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CHAMPION LARNED'S FOREHAND STROKE.^ 



H O W TO PLAY 

LAWN TENNIS 



Containing Practical Instruction from an 

Expert on Making Lawn Tennis 

Strokes. Brief Description 

and History of the 

Game ■ 



and other useful information 



Published by 

American Sports Publishing Company 

i6 and i8 Park Place,^New York 



* 


■Fs 




1^03 


THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS. 




Two Copies Received 




JUN 9 1903 




C^ Copytight hntry 




CiLASS ^ XXc. No. 




COPY B. 





Copyright, 1903 

BY 

i*«ifei^c^i^?1'ORTS Publishing Co. 
i •• ''t • New York 



UL^-/4«/-/ 



CONTENTS 



General Description of Lawn Tennis . 
A Brief History of the Game . 
A First Lesson for Beginners 
How to Make the Most Important Strokes 
L — The Service .... 
IL — The Ground Stroke 

IIL— The Volley and Half-Volley . 

IV.— The Lob .... 
Styles and Skill of the Experts 
The American Twist Service 
Hew to Build and Keep a Court . 



PAGE 

6 



i8 

24 
28 

33 
36 

42 

39 
46 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 



General Description of Lawn Tennis. 

Lawn tennis is played by two, three or four people (though 
very seldom by three) on a smooth stretch of ground called a 
court. The playing surface of this court is 27 feet (for singles), 
or 36 feet (for doubles) in width and 78 feet in length, and it is 
laid out on a level surface of grass or turf, or occasion- 
ally on a board floor under a covered roof in winter. The court 
is marked out with white lines on the ground indicating the 
boundaries, and the space is divided in two by a net three feet in 
height stretched across the centre from side to side. 

Each player is armed with a racket, which is a wooden frame 
about a foot long and eight inches wide, the oval open space 
being covered with a fine network of catgut strings, and the 
frame supplied with a handle about 15 inches long. With this 
racket the players strike a ball 2^ inches in diameter, of rubber 
filled with compressed air and covered with felt. 

This ball is knocked from one side of the net to the other 
back and forth until one side misses it — that is, fails to hit it 
at all. or knocks it into the net. or out of the court. Either side 
scores a point when the opponent fails to return the ball into 
his court. The object of the game, therefore, is to knock the 
ball into the opponent's court so that he cannot return it. 

The first player to hit the ball is called the server (he is 
chosen by lot) and he throws the ball up into the air and 
knocks it over the net and into the court on the opposite side. 
After this service is delivered, each side must strike the ball in 
turn, hitting it either before it touches the ground (a volley) 
or after it has bounded only once. It is against the rule to 



H o %v to Play Lawn T e ti n i s 7 

volley in returning the service, but after this second stroke of 
each point, it is optional with the players whether they volley 
or return the ball on the first bounce. 

The method of scoring is simple. The first point won for 
either side counts 15, and if each side should win one of the 
two first points, the score becomes 15 — all, "all" meaning "even" 
in every case. The server's score is always called first and the 
first point therefore makes the score 15 — love, or love — 15 (ac- 
cording to whether the server or his opponent wins the first 
point). "Love" means nothing in tennis scoring. The second 
point for either side is 30 and the third 40. If the server wins 
the first two strokes, the score is 30 — love; if won by the oppon- 
ent, it is love — 30; if each has won a point, the third count then 
makes the score 30 — 15, or 15 — 30. according to whether the 
server or his opponent is ahead. Thirty-all follows when each 
side has won two points ; 40 — 30 or 30 — 40 when one side has 
two and the other side three. 

Either side wins a game when it has scored four points, un- 
less each side wins three points, which would make the score 
40 — all, but which is called "deuce" instead. Here lies the only 
intricacy in the method of scoring. When both sides are tied 
at 40, or three points each, the score is deuce, and one side must 
win two more strokes than the other from this point in order to 
win the game — in other words, if the score once gets even at 40, 
neither side can win by a single point. From deuce, the score 
becomes "vantage-in" or "vantage-out," according to whether the 
server or his opponent is ahead (the server is always "in" and 
the opponent "out"). With vantage in his favor, either side 
can win the game by capturing the next point, but if it goes to 
the other side, the score returns to deuce again, and so on in- 
definitely until one side or the other has won two points in suc- 
cession from deuce. 

When a game has been won, the other side becomes the server, 
the service alternating with the games. The score by games 
is called with the server's score first, or sometimes in matches 
with the side that is ahead first. When the games are even, the 
score is called at i — all, 2 — all, 3 — all or 4 — all as the case may 



8 H o 2u to Play Lawn Tennis 

be, but if it is even at 5 — all, then deuce and vantage games 
are played just as in points during the games, Five — all is 
deuce and from this point it is necessary for one side or the 
other to win two games in succession to take the set, that is, 
as in the games, the set cannot be won by a majority of one, 
the winner must score at least two or more games than the loser. 
Most matches are the best two in three sets, although some 
championship matches are the best three in five sets. 

The server must always strike the ball in the air before it 
touches the ground, but the opponent, who is known technically 
as the striker-out, is not allowed to strike the ball when first 
served until after it has bounded once. After these first two 
strokes, one from either side, the ball is always in play until 
one side or the other fails to return the ball properly and the op- 
ponent then scores a point. Either player, after the first stroke 
from either side, may play the ball before it has touched the 
ground, which is called a volley, or after it has struck and 
bounded once. If it is allowed to touch the ground a second 
time, the point is lost. 

A drive is a fast hard stroke played underhand from the back 
of the court, and a smash is an overhand volley played very 
hard and fast to "kill" the ball by the speed of the stroke. A 
lob is a ball knocked up into the air to pass over an opponent's 
head, when he is at the net, or to gain time. To cut the ball 
is to strike it sideways, so that it twists rapidly on its own axis, 
like a billiard ball with ''English," which makes it bound crooked. 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 



A Brief History of the Game. 

Lawn tennis is essentially a modern game, for its origin dates 
back less than thirty years. Its geneology is rather obscure, and 
the best authorities disagree as to its direct parentage. The first 
record of any such game in Europe, however, occurs in the 
Middle ages, when a crude form of tennis was the favorite sport 
of the Italian and French feudal kings and nobles. The French 
seem to have borrowed the game from the Italians, and they 
called it la tongue paume; in Italy it was known under the name 
of pallonc. 

This French game was played with a cork ball, which was 
originally struck with the hand over a bank of earth, which 
served the same purpose as our modern net. Soon a crude racket 
with wooden frame and handle and gut strings was substituted, 
and in this form the game was introduced into England and 
flourished there for many years. 

Major Waiter C. Wingfield, of the British army, is popularly 
credited with the invention of lawn tennis, as we know it, for 
he patented the game in 1874. His original game was played 
on a court shaped like an hour-glass, 60 feet in length and 30 feet 
in width at the base-lines. In the center was stretched a net 
21 feet wide and 7 feet high at its sides, which sagged to 4 feet 
8 inches in the centre. The old method of racquet scoring was 
used, and the server was required to stand within a marked 
space in the middle of his court. 

In March, 1875, the first regular laws for the game were formu- 
lated by the Marylebone Cricket Club, of Lord's. The club's 
committee selected the name of lawn tennis, and promulgated a 
new set of rules that were accepted by Major Wingfield and a 
large majority of those who had taken up the new game. They 
set the length of the court at 78 feet, and there it has remained 
to this day ; but they still preserved the hour-glass form, and the 
breadth required by their first rules was 30 feet at the base-lines 



10 How to Play Lawn Tennis 

and 24 feet at the net. The net was set at 4 feet high in the 
centre and 5 feet at the posts, and the service-Hne at 26 feet from 
the net. The racquet system of scoring, with one or two minor 
alterations, was also preserved. 

At the urgent suggestion of Henry Jones, who afterward be- 
came famous as the "Cavendish" of whist, the All-English 
Croquet Club, whose grounds at Wimbledon have since become 
famous the world over, opened its lawns to lawn tennis in 1875, 
and so popular did the game become that an All-England cham- 
pionship meeting — the first of the series which has represented 
the amateur championship of England — was held in July, 1877, 
the name of the club being then changed to the All-Englarfd 
Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. This first tournament was 
eminently successful, and the All-England club assumed control 
of the new game. By common consent its decisions were uni- 
versally respected In 1883 an attempt was made to form a 
National Association, but as the All-England Club declined to 
enter into the project, it was a failure, and in fts place an annual 
meeting of club secretaries was held under the auspices of the 
All-England Club, for the purpose of legislation, until 1888, when 
the present English Lawn Tennis Association was formed as a 
national body to govern the sport. The authority of this organi- 
zation has never since been questioned, and its decisions have 
been accepted throughout the continent and British colonies. The 
only part of the world where separate laws are made is the United 
States, and even here the English rules and changes are carefully 
considered before any alteration is made. 

Major Wingfield's crude lawn tennis game first made its ap- 
pearance in America in 1874, the same year it came out in 
England. A Bostonian, who was traveling abroad, brought home 
a set of Wingfield's rules and implements for the game, and a 
court was laid out at his country home at Nahant, a seaside 
resort near Boston. Another court made its appearance at New- 
port the following spring, and the Staten Island Cricket and 
Base Ball Club, near New York, also took up the game in 1875. 
At Philadelphia, too, the game was introduced at the Young 
America Cricket Club's grounds, and soon grew popular. 




END OF A FAST 1 URFUANL) srROKE. 
(Miss Marion Jones.) 



12 How to Play Lawn T e 7t n i s 

During the first few years of its American existence lawn tennis 
was played under widely varying conditions, but the distance 
between the points of play being too great to let these differences 
become apparent until open tournaments were held. The nets 
hung at different heights, the courts varied somewhat in size, 
and the balls differed materially both as to size and weight. Local 
tournaments were held at Newport, Boston, Philadelphia and 
Staten Island, but it was not until 1880 when James Dwight and 
Richard D. Sears, of Boston, who were afterward so famous in 
lawn tennis, played at Staten Island and Philadelphia, that the 
full importance of this confusion became apparent. 

The following spring in May, 1881, a meeting was held in 
New York, and the present United States National Lawn Tennis 
Association was formed. The English rules, as then in vogue, 
were adopted almost in their entirety and the English champion- 
ship balls were also accepted as official for all American tourna- 
ments. It was decided shortly afterward to hold an annual 
championship tournament at the Newport Casino, and a series 
was started that has since been continued regularly every year, 
becoming second in importance only to the Wimbledon event. 

Dwight and Sears were distinctly superior to all other players in 
America during this early period, and their only dangerous rivals 
for several years were the Clark brothers, of Philadelphia. But 
the game spread very rapidly in American soil, and new courts 
and new players sprang up on every hand, although Sears man- 
aged to retain his title as champion for seven successive years. 
During this time, the play developed rapidly and the skill of the 
players increased with wonderful speed, but Sears kept place 
with all improvements and managed to keep well ahead of all his 
rivals until an injury to his shoulder made it difficult for him to 
play, and he retired on his laurels unbeaten. 

During the first seven years of American lawn tennis, R. D. 
Sears was invincible. The first three seasons he played through 
each tournament at Newport, and each season won the champion- 
ship without the loss of a set. In 1884 the present system of 
barring the champion out of the all-comers' tournament was 
adopted and Sears successfully defended his title against the 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 13 

challenge of H. A. Taylor, who was the first challenger for the 
American chainpionship. Sears beat Taylor rather easily by 
three sets to one, and the following year he repeated his success 
over C. M. Brinley, who was the challenger for 1885. 

In 1886 R. L. Beeckman won the Newport tournament and 
challenged in turn for the championship title. Again was Sears 
invincible, Beeckman meeting the same fate as both of his 
predecessors, although he forced the champion to the first close 
match he played at Newport. A year later H. W. Slocum, Jr., 
challenged for the title, and he was badly beaten by Sears in 
straight sets, although he had beaten all of the other leading 
players of the country in the all-comers' tournament. 

Sears's reign ended in 1888, when he voluntarily relinquished 
his claim to the American championship. He had injured his 
shoulder and neck somewhat and was forced to give up severe 
play. Slocum won the Newport tournament again and took the 
championship by default in Sears's absence. This began the 
second era in American championship tournaments. Slocum's 
"tenure of office" lasted only two years. In 1889 Q. A. Shaw, Jr., 
won the all-comers' tournament at Newport, and was beaten three 
sets to one by Slocum in the challenge round, but a year later 
0. S. Campbell, who had been runner-up to Shaw the year before, 
earned the right to challenge the champion and managed to wrest 
the championship title from him by three sets to one 

Campbell's successful innovation of extreme net play was the 
first of many experimental stages American players had yet to 
go through. He cultivated volleying far beyond his ground- 
strokes, yet his methods were startlingly successful at home, 
and he proved invincible for three years. In 1891 Clarence 
Hobart challenged him for the championship, and was beaten in 
?. five-set challenge match, and the following year F. H. Hovey, 
of Boston, met a similar fate, although only four sets were re- 
quired this time to settle the question of supremacy. 

The following summer R. D. Wrenn won the all-comers' tour- 
nament, beating Hovey unexpectedly in the finals, but before the 
challenge match could be played, Campbell announced his retire- 
ment, so the championship passed into Wrenn's hands by de- 



14 How to Play L a iv n Tennis 

fault. Wrenn was another volleyer, but with a good command 
also of ground-strokes, and the modern era in America then 
began with Wrenn's advent in 1893, but his style was not fully 
appreciated until the following year, when M. F. Goodbody, the 
visiting Irish expert, went through the Newport all-comers' 
tournament, beating three of the crack American players. Hovey, 
Hobart and Larned by superior steadiness. When Goodbody 
challenged Wrenn, however, it was a different story, and the per- 
sistent resourceful methcxls of the American champion showed 
his style of net play to be a distinct advance over the former 
American school. 

Hovey had learned the lesson of steadiness better than others 
by the time the next tournament came around, and he won the 
Newport tournament with the loss of only one set, and they 
challenged Wrenn and beat him in straight sets for the cham- 
pionship. 

In 1897, the season was made memorable by the visit to Ameri- 
can courts of a term of British players composed of W. V. 
Eaves, H. S. Mahony and H. A. Nisbet. They were beaten in 
the international tournaments held at Hoboken, N. J., and Chi- 
cago, 111., and also in an open event at Longwood, Mass., be- 
fore the championship meeting at Newport. Here Eaves beat 
Nisbet in the finals and Mahony was retired in an earlier round 
by M. D. Whitman. Again was Wrenn, the champion, called on 
to defend the national honors against a challenging Englishman 
and again he succeeded in defeating the foreigner. The same 
aggressive net play, which had improved since he first won the 
title, helped Wrenn to victory and when the fifth set of that 
memorable struggle was reached Wrenn was much the stronger 
and surer, and won with a margin to spare. 

A year later, the war with Spain broke out and both Wrenn 
and Larned were among the volunteers who went to the front 
in Cuba. In their absence, the younger generation of Ameri- 
can experts had matters very much their own way, and M. D. 
Whitman loomed up out of the group as the steadiest and in 
many respects the cleverest. He won the Newport tournament 
after one or two close matches and so fell heir to the cham- 



How to Play L a %v n Tennis 15 

pionship title in the absence of Wrenn. The new champion made 
a wonderful record during 1898, 18905 and 1900. playing steadily 
through all of the most important American and Canadian tour- 
naments during the three seasons, and losing three matches the 
first year, none the second and only one the third. 

The season of 1899 was Whitman's most remarkable one, for 
he not only did not lose a single match, but was not once forced 
close in tournament play. With unbroken success he defended 
all of the many challenge cups he had won the previous year, and 
when he came to defend his championship title he was considered 
invincible. The all-comers' tournament had a rather sensational 
ending since first honors were won by J. P. Paret, after a number 
of sensational matches, in which the old lesson of steadiness was 
repeated once more. 

The season of 1900 was made notable by the first officially 
recognized international matches in the sport. Through the 
generosity of D. F. Davis, an International Challenge Cup was 
offered and a challenging team was sent to America to try for 
the new trophy. This was composed of A. W. Gore, E. D. 
Black and H. R. Barrett, Black being a Scotchman and the other 
two English. The international matches took place at Longwood. 
Mass., the first week in August and the poor showing of the 
challengers was a surprise to all, even to the defenders them- 
selves. The American team won the first three matches played, 
giving them the victory before the last two matches of the series 
were finished. 

Two of the foreigners. Gore and Black, were also entered for 
the championship event at Newport, but made a poor showing 
there. Black was forced to the full five sets by Sumner Hardy, 
and by C. R. Budlong, and then succumbed easily to his fellow- 
visitor, Gore. The latter required the full five sets to beat Hol- 
combe Ward, and then went down before G. L. Wrenn, Jr., who 
in turn was unable to get a set in the finals from Earned. The 
latter had an easy road to the finals, winning the all-comers' and 
challenging Champion Whitman. Again the champion proved 
invincible and although Larned's brilliancy carried off the sec- 
ond set in fine style, his spasmodic attack finally broke down 



i6 How to Play Lawn Tennis 

before Whitman's wonderful defence and the champion re- 
tained his honors without great difficuUy. 

This, his third successive victory, gave him possession of the 
fourth American championship challenge cup, its predecessors 
having been captured by Sears, Campbell and Wrenn. 




A STRAIGHT-ARM FOREHAND DRIVE. 
(M. D. Whitman.) 



IT w to Flay Lawn Tennis 



A First Lesson for Beginners. 

To begin right is half the game in lawn tennis, and if one 
wants to learn to play the game well, it is important to 
begin correctly. Some of the simplest matters are the most im- 
portant, and if these are mastered at the start the improvement 
in skill will follow quickly after, and the development be gradual 
but rapid. To accumulate bad habits of play when first learning 
the game is only to handicap a beginner indefinitely, for it is 
much harder to give up bad habits and alter the style in these , 
small matters than to begin all over again and learn anew. Some 
of the most important of these minor details are the smallest 
and the most likely to be overlooked. They are not child's play, 
by any means, and should not be ignored because they seem 
simple. Even the best experts had to learn them first and must 
observe them as well as the beginner. 

First and most important of all, the racket should be firmly 
gripped in making all of the strokes. A loose grasp ruins other- 
wise good play, and no habit interferes with progress more than 
that of holding the handle loosely. The slightest relaxation in 
the grasp will often let the racket turn in the hand while mak- 
ing a stroke, and it is failure in consequence. It should be 
held by the extreme end always, the "butt" or leather binding at 
the end resting against the ball of the hand. 

For all forehand strokes, or those made when the ball is on 
the right side of the body, the hand should rest diagonally along 
the handle, with the first finger separated from the others and 
extended an inch or two further along the racket, but also wrap- 
ped around it ; it should never rest its full length along the 
handle, as we sometimes see beginners doing. The finger nails 
when at rest on the handle, should face at the moment the ball 
is hit in the direction in which it is to fly. 

For backhand strokes, those made when the ball is on the left 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 19 

side and the arm and racket must be drawn across in front of the 
body, the fingers should be closed together and the thumb ex- 
tended out straight along the handle behind the racket, in order 
to give more force and better direction to the ball. In backhand 
play, the second or middle knuckles should face when the racket 
meets it in the direction in which the ball is to be driven. 

In changing the grip after one stroke for another on the oppo- 
site side, it is necessary to shift the grip somewhat, but this is 
easily accomplished as the racket is carried across in front of 
the body. It is the custom of almost all good players to balance 
the racket between strokes in front of the body, with the upper 
part of the handle at the "splice," as the fork where the wood 
of the handle spreads out into the frame is called, resting lightly 
in the left hand. 

After every stroke it is well to return the racket to this posi- 
tion, and the shift in the grip between strokes will never be found 
difficult if this is done. In the heat of the play, the effort of 
shifting the hold becomes almost unconscious and does not dis- 
tract attention from the strokes themselves. Nearly all experts 
condemn as bad form the habit of playing both forehand and 
backhand strokes with the same grip. 

In actually making the stroke, the racket should start as far 
behind the point which the ball is to be hit as possible, and swing 
as far beyond it after the blow as the full reach will permit. 
In forehand strokes, the full length of the arm should be ex- 
tended behind the body to start the swing with plenty of impetus 
and the stroke should be finished well up over the left shoulder, 
the racket even turning in the wrist and dropping down back of 
the head to stop its impetus. 

The swing for backhand stroke should be almost exactly the 
reverse, the racket starting over the left shoulder and ending 
at the extreme length of the arm extend out beyond. The body, 
however, should be turned around in exactly the opposite direc- 
tion, so as to face the ball for each stroke, and the position of 
the feet should be shifted so as to give the firmest balance and 
the freest motion of the body. The feet should be spread well 
apart and the body bent forward at the hips just before the ball 



20 How to Play L a lu ii Tennis 

is struck, so that its weight is added to the impulse of the 
racket in making the stroke. 

As in golf, the weight of the body is carried on the rear leg 
and foot before the stroke, and as the racket swings toward the 
ball, it is thrown forward, shifting to the other, so the added 
force of the body greatly increases the power of the stroke. A 
long swinging sweep of the arm and racket should be cultivated 
so as to meet the ball squarely and with a powerful impact as it 
comes toward you. 

All side motion of the recket is lost power; as in golf, the 
head of the racket and the wrist that guides it should travel as 
nearly as possible in the direction the ball is to go just before the 
stroke, while actually hitting the ball and as long as possible 
after the impact. Xhe "follow through" is nearly the same in ten- 
nis as in golf and quite as important. Greater freedom in 
swinging the weight of the body while making the stroke is 
possible in tennis, for the left arm is free to help recover the 
balance, while in golf both are required in holding the club. A 
tennis stroke is made while the body is in motion, too, instead 
of being still, as in golf, so the weight is carried still further 
forward and checked by bringing the rear foot o utin front of 
other. In making a fast tennis stroke forehanded, the weight 
starts on the right foot, shifts to the left as the ball is hit, and is 
finally checked again on the right, which takes a step forward 
to recover the balance just after making the stroke. 

In making lawn tennis strokes, it is vitally important to keep 
away from the ball. One of the most common errors among 
beginners — even with some experienced players — is that of getting 
too close to the ball while playing. The cramped elbow that 
results from this ruins many more strokes than ever spoiled b}'' 
being too far away from the ball. A splendid maxim laid down 
by an expert player is that every player should go to the ball in 
making a stroke, and never let the ball come to hini. Even when 
one finds himself in the right position to take the ball, it is better 
to step back as it approaches and then forward again to meet 
it, for this insures the correct position, with better speed and 
direction with the weight moving forward when the stroke is 



*H o zv to Play Lawn Tennis 21 

made. If the flight or bound of the ball is a little further than 
calculated, the player will still be in the right position and not 
too close. In every stroke of the game, the position should be 
that of meeting the ball ; no fast stroke can be made while mov- 
ing backward or even with the weight thrown backward. 

The actual position of the racket in the hand while the stroke 
is being made is very important. In the preliminary swing and 
in hitting the ball, the head of the racket should be nearly level 
with the wrist, and the end of the swing should finish with the 
racket well above the wrist. This requires an upward motion 
of the racket's head as well as the forearm, and it is this motion 
that lifts the ball over the net, while turning of the wrist to one 
side or the other directs it to the right or left. 

As the racket meets the ball, its head should be drawn slightly 
upward so that the strings are dragged across the face of the 
ball as they hit it, and this slight side motion gives the ball a 
twist that keeps it from "sailing," and makes it drop soon after 
crossing the net. In some of the "lift" strokes or "drop" strokes 
played by experts, like the famous "Lawford" stroke, for in- 
stance, this drop is much exaggerated, and the ball describes a 
rainbow arch in its flight, dropping suddenly after crossing the 
net. Much power is wasted in such strokes, but a little twist 
is generally necessary to hit the ball hard and still make it fall 
inside of the court-lines. 

The height at which the ball should be taken depends on the 
lieight of its bound, which in turn depends on the hardness of 
:he court. On most grass courts, the bound in fast play reaches 
ibout to the knee, and this is the best height at which to hit the 
:he ball. Even on harder courts, of "dirt," sand or boards, it is 
Detter to let the ball drop to this height before hitting it, al- 
hough the longer bound keeps the player further back in his 
:ourt, which is not often desirable. Sometimes, it is necessary 
:o hit the ball at the level with the hip to prevent being driven 
;oo far from the net, but no stroke should ever be made under- 
land with the ball higher than the hip. 

The eyes should be kept on the ball all of the time as it ap- 
proaches; even up to the time pf hitting it, one should watch 



22 How to Play Lawn Tennis 

the ball, not the racket or the opposing player. It is some- 
times necessary to look up for a second to see the direction in 
which it is to be placed and where the opponent is, but this 
should be done before the stroke begins, not while it is being 
made. A player often reads his opponent's intention from the 
direction in which he is looking, and if one looks where he 
plans to place the ball, he may betray his thoughts and the op- 
ponent anticipate the stroke by going directly to the spot. 

Perhaps the best way for one who wants to play tennis well, 
is to practice strokes against a blank wall — high fence, the side 
of a house, or some obstacle of that kind — batting the ball up 
against it again and again, hitting it from the bound each 
time it returns. Nothing can possibly afford better practice than 
this kind of play. Experts use it constantly in the spring, and 
find it a better way of getting into form, of "getting their eye 
on the ball," as they say, than even regular practice on a regular 
court. The ball always comes back at the corresponding angle 
to that at which it struck the wall, and with much greater regu- 
larity than any human opponent could return it. 

In all forms of practice, whether against a wall or an antago- 
nist, the method of making the strokes should be kept in mind 
all of the time. Every stroke made in bad form is just so much 
wasted practice, and if a faulty style is contracted, the longer 
it is allowed to continue without correction, the more danger- 
ous it becomes. Bad form in lawn tennis is as difficult to over- 
come as bad habits in anything else. Some of the simplest and 
least offensive of mannerisms, too, often develop into injurious 
habits if not checked at once. 

Holding the racket loosely in the hand, swinging it or twist- 
ing it sidewise before making a stroke, jumping a little just be- 
fore the stroke instead of while it is being made, taking the eyes 
off the ball, and even momentary lapses of indifference while 
playing are all dangerous habits to contract, and each will de- 
velop into a bad fault if not checked at once. 

The questions of placing the ball and of covering court so as 
to prevent the opponent from out-placing you are very impor- 
tant, and both permit unlimited study; in fact, the cleverest of 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 23 

tournament players never stop working on these problems. After 
every stroke from one side of the court or the other, one should 
immediately hurry back to the centre of the base-line, so as to 
be ready to start for the next ball, no matter where it is placed. 
If she is caught too far away from the centre, the opponent will 
surely win the stroke by placing the ball to the other side of the 
court and out of her reach. 

Not long ago I discovered an expert tournament player re- 
peatedly stood still after making a stroke from one side of the 
court, and waited to see the result of his play, instead of hurry- 
ing back to the centre of the base-line in anticipation of his 
opponent's next stroke. By this error, he constantly left his 
court open at the opposite side for a well-placed ball that would 
win the point. 

When badly pressed for time or too far out to one side of the 
court to get back again, a lob is always useful, and it gives a 
player plenty of time to get back into position for the next play. 
Beginners should all learn to lob well, as this is an invaluable 
stroke and can always be resorted to for a defense. 

An overhand service is practically necessary for those who 
want to play the game well, although some players learn to 
serve underhand with such a sharp twist that it is difficult to 
make a hard return from the low erratic bound. The ball should 
be thrown up in the air as straight as possible over the right 
shoulder for the overhand service, and hit just as it pauses in 
the air before falling. To throw it much higher and hit it as it 
falls is much more difficult and less effective. 

An overhand service should be made as fast as the player can 
control the ball within the boundaries of the proper court. The 
second service, too, after a first fault has been served, should 
be made in the same way but slower. To serve in a different 
way only tends to upset the accuracy of the first service as well 
as the second, and weakens both. 



24 How to Play Lawn T e 7i n i s 

How to Make the Most Important Strokes. 

I. — The Service, 

Having first mastered the rudiments of the game, one is 
soon led on to the more intricate points of play. In hitting the 
ball, there are very many variations possible, of course, but the 
whole list of strokes can be divided safely into four classes: (i) 
The service, (2) horizontal ground strokes, (3) the volley and 
the half-volley, and (4) the lob. Let us consider the service 
first, as it is the opening stroke in every play. 

The service is restricted by the rules of the game more closely 
than any other play, and it is well that it is so, for there have 
been many attempts to take advantage of the attack given to 
the server by his being allowed to make the first stroke of each 
series. The service rule (No. 6) has had to be changed repeat- 
edly to keep the server from infringing on the rights of his 
opponent. In the modern game it is considered a great ad- 
vantage to get up the net to volley as ^oon as possible after the 
service has been delivered, and the American experts a few 
years ago carried this plan of attack so far that they served on 
the run, and a new rule (that which is at present in force) had 
to be adopted to stop their onslaught. 

It has always been the intention of the rules to make the 
server stand at the base-line when he delivered his service, and 
the wording has been changed only to define this, position more 
closely, so that he shall remain there until after the ball has 
been delivered. Otherwise, he is allowed to hit the ball as he 
pleases, and it is a good service if the ball drops in the service- 
court diagonally opposite him, and does not touch the net in 
crossing. Naturally, the faster the service the more difficult it 
is to return, and all efforts have been directed toward getting 
greater speed in the delivery without forcing the ball to strike 
out of the required court. 

There used to be many methods of underhand twist services 



.^\ 




A GOOD OYERIIAXl) SERVICI-: FOR WOMEN. 
(Mrs. G. Wo Hillyard.) 



26 How to Play Lawn Tennis 

used, much like those of rackets and courts tennis, and it was 
intended to make the ball bound up from the ground at an 
erratic angle that would make it more difficult for the opponent 
to return. These twist services passed out of use, however, 
when faster return strokes and harder drives came into use and 
have been only occasionally revived for special uses, sometimes 
against women in mixed doubles, or occasionally against a 
player who finds it difficult to hit the heavily cut ball. It is also 
occasionally useful to serve an underhand twist ball when the 
sun shines brightly in the server's face, and m.akes it difficult to 
look up for an overhand service. The American twist service is 
a newer and more scientific development of these old-fashioned 
twist deliveries, but the ball is served overhand and very fast. 
A special chapter has been devoted to this one play. 

The most useful and commonest service used by good players 
is an overhand delivery almost straight with a slight cut to the 
right that keeps the ball from "sailing" in the air. A ball always 
travels faster and truer if it turns on its own axis, and this same 
principle which is used in "rifling" guns is brought into use in 
serving a tennis ball. The player should reach as high as pos- 
sible, even serving up on the right toe, and strike the ball at 
the extreme length of this racket. The server should reach up 
a little above the ball, too, so that the pressure of the racket 
shall be slightly on top as well as on the right side of the ball. 
This top twist helps to bring the ball down into the court, when 
sometimes it might otherwise go out and be a fault. 

This overhand cut service curves slightly to the (server's) 
left, and its tendency is to draw the opponent out slightly in 
that direction in order to return it. If a player can combine 
this service with a "reverse" service, which is made by drawing 
the racket across the ball in the opposite direction, from left to 
right, he can fool the adversary wonderfully by varying the two, 
and keep him guessing almost constantly. This gives the server 
a big advantage, for the opponent is unable to anticipate his 
delivery and finds it more difficult to make a strong return. 

It is important to have a strong second service, and too many 



H o 7v to Play Lawn Tennis 27 

•layers neglect this feature of their play, serving so slowly and 
softly" in their anxiety to be certain to avoid the double fault, 
hat their second service is very easy to kill. The second 
ervice should be as nearly like the first as possible, only mod- 
rated enough to be certain of not missing making a double 
ault. I know a number of good tournament players whose 
:ame shows the woeful weakness of a second service that can 
e killed often by a fast drive from the slow high bound. It is 
oubly important that the second service should be as long as 
ossible, that is, following as near the service-line as possible; 
nd that it should not bound high so as to offer a tempting 
lark to drive at. 

Many players try for exceptional speed with their first service, 
;^hen they know that the chances are heavily against their 
laking the stroke count. The result is that the second service, 
/hen they miss, is so much softer than the first that it is easy 
3 kill. It is better to make the first a little slower and be more 
ure of bringing it in, and then to make the second more nearly 
ke the first if the latter should be a fault. 

If the server plans to run in on his service and to volley the 
pponent's first return, there are other considerations than mere 
peed and twist to consider in making the service. Direction 
nd placing are even more important than either speed or bound. 
3r the ball must be carefully placed to make the server's posi- 
on safe at the net. It is generally the safest in running in, to 
erve to the centre of the court, for it is always more difficult 
3r the opponent to pass a volleyer at the net from the centre 
f the court than from either edge, where the side-line is always 
pen. 

If the opponent is particularly weak on his backhand, or if he 
tands well over toward the centre of the court to- anticipate a 
elivery to this point, it is well to vary the direction of the 
ervice to the extreme edge of the right-hand court. This will 
ften force him out of court to make the return, and its unex- 
ected direction will make it more difficult for him to handle 
le ball well. 



28 H o rv to Play L a tu n Tennis 

II. — The Ground-Stroke. 

At least three-quarters of the game is made up of ground- 
strokes, and upon a player's skill in this department of the game 
depends much of his success. It is impossible to play the game 
well without good ground-strokes, and very few men have ever 
succeeded with only volleying to back them up. To win a rally 
by volleying at the net requires, first, good ground-strokes to 
make the opening when the volleyer will be safe at the net. To 
be sure, there is only one stroke in each rally that is required 
by law to be played off the ground — the return of the service — 
but few men are able to volley so well that they can reach the 
net safely after every service and first return, and it is prac- 
tically necessary to earn the position for a smash or volleyed ace 
by good ground-strokes that lead up to the winning position. 

The straight horizontal drive is the most useful of all the 
ground-strokes, and this can be made either forehand or back- 
hand. It needs a full, long swing, a clean-hit ball and as much 
body swing and "carry through," as the golfers call it, as it is 
possible to get in the stroke. The ball is best taken at about 
the height of the knee, and a little "lift" put on it at the end of 
the stroke. Many players have a habit of striking the ball much 
higher than the knee, often higher than the waist, but this not 
only makes the stroke more difficult to execute, but it also in- 
creases the chances of putting it into the net. In making this 
stroke, I want to emphasize once more, however, the importance 
of getting the weight of the body into the stroke and of throw- 
ing it forward so that the weight follows the racket as long as 
possible. 

Most beginners in lawn tennis have a tendency to push the 
ball rather than to hit it, and the effect is to ruin what might 
otherwise be a good stroke. The impact against the ball should 
be clean-cut and sharp, but the racket should follow the ball 
until it is well started on its course. 

The drop stroke, often erroneously called the "Lawford" 
stroke, is an exaggeration of this side-strike that has become 




THE WAY TO MAKE A "CHOP STROKE.' 



30 H o 7V t o P I a y L a XV n Tennis 

very commonly used; in fact, more often seen than the true 
stroke. In making this, the racket meets the ball with a diag- 
onal sweep, striking it a glancing blow with a sharp up-twist that 
drags the ball along with it and gives it a sharp spinning motion, 
like a "follow" shot in billiards. By some tennis players this is 
so much exaggerated that the ball describes a sharp, rainbow- 
like course as it crosses the net and dips quickly after crossing, 
so that many balls that seem to be going out of court ultimately 
fall inside the boundaries. 

This stroke is very useful for passing an opponent at the net, 
for it is doubly difficult to volley a falling ball like this sends, 
but against an opponent at the back of his court, it takes un- 
necessary risks without proportionate gain, for it accomplishes 
no more, save, possibly, a little greater speed than the straight 
side-stroke. 

The chop-stroke is another method of striking the ball after 
it has bounded which has found a great many devotees. The 
ball is hit with a downward chopping motion like that made by 
a woodsman swinging an axe. The head of the racket is 
bevelled and meets the ball at a sharp angle, striking a glancing 
blow that gives the ball a sharp back-spinning motion, opposite 
to that given by the drop or lift stroke, and like the spin of a 
billiard ball after it has been played for a draw-shot. 

This stroke is a corruption of the English method of striking 
under the ball rather than over it, as so many Americans do, 
and it has been exaggerated until some players "chop" nearly 
every ball they play. The tendency of this stroke is to keep 
the ball up, rather than make it drop into court, and unless it 
is played slow or from well above the net, it often sails out of 
court. The player has a little better command of the ball, per- 
haps, but less speed than with the straight side-stroke. 

In backhand play, the straight side stroke is the most useful 
of all but more difficult than the chop-stroke. The drop-stroke 
is very difficult to play on the back-hand side and few players 
ever use it except on the forehand, while the cut or chop stroke 
is the easiest and most often used on the back-hand. The Eng- 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 31 

sh players use it a good deal, cutting much more in their back- 
and play than on the other side of the body. 

The chop-stroke is the most difficult of all to handle at the 
ack of the court, because of the twisting ball and low bound, 
ut it is very easy indeed to volley if an opponent plays it 
hen one is waiting at the net. The straight side-stroke is the 
est of all for driving against a base-line player and the drop- 
roke for passing. It is difficult, however, to combine both, 
!id few players have succeeded in doing so. A man must 
noose one or the other to gain success and stand or fall by 
lat. It takes a wonderful amount of practice to perfect either 
roke and if one divides his time and attention between two 
ifferent styles, he is likely to imitate the "Jack of all trades, 
laster of none." 

In receiving the service, the ground-stroke must be used al- 
ays, and it depends upon the style of the opponent which is 
le best play to use against him. If the server runs in to the 
et to volley after each service, a side-line passing drive or a 
lort cross-court stroke will generally prove the best answer 
) his attack. Such a return makes the ball drop so soon after 
■ossing the net that it is very difficult for him to volley the 
roke, and even if he does succeed, he generally hits the ball 
2I0W the level of the net and his volley becomes less dangerous 
ecause he- must lift the ball up again somewhat in order to 
eep it from going into the net. If he volleys too well to pass, 
len a lob must be resorted to. 

If the opponent is a base-line player and does not run in at 
tice to volley, the drop-stroke is not so useful for attacking or 
pening upon an attack for a winning volley at the net. as either 
le chop-stroke or the straight side-stroke. It adds to the 
lance of error without increasing the force of the attack. The 
rop-stroke spins out a good deal after it has struck the ground 
nd loses much of its speed when it rises the second time for 
le opponent to return, while the chop-stroke "shoots" faster 
lan ever from the ground and the straight side-stroke holds 
lost of its place after bounding. 



32 H o 7i> to Play Lawn T e n n i s 

The question of length is of utmost importance ni making 
good ground-strokes, and for this purpose the straight side- 
stroke is the most powerful of all ground-strokes. Both the 
chop-stroke and the drop-stroke depend on their twist to keep 
them within the boundaries of the court, while the side-stroke 
is aimed for the spot it is intended to strike. In using the drop- 
stroke, the player aims many feet beyond where he expects the 
ball to fall, and depends upon the drop to bring it into the court, 
while with the chop-stroke, it is just the reverse, for the player 
has to aim the ball many feet short of the base-line in order 
to bring it inside of the line, as the under-twist makes the ball 
"sail" somewhat. 

For all-round uses, therefore, the straight side-stroke is the 
most useful, but it does not follow that no cut should ever 
be used with it. On the contrary, it is possible to use a little 
of either cut with this stroke, and thus get part of the effect 
of either of the other two strokes, while with either of the 
exaggerated styles, the other is almost impossible to acquire. 
Many players who have mastered the straight side-stroke, and 
who follow through after the ball the longest in making it, vary 
its use a good deal by twisting the ball slightly according to the 
position of the opponent. 

Against a man at the net, they finish the stroke with the 
racket drawn somewhat up toward the left shoulder, and this 
gives the ball a top twist that makes it drop slightly after 
crossing the net, although not nearly so much as with the 
regular drop-stroke. When the opponent is at the base-line, a 
little under twist keeps the ball from bounding high and makes 
it shoot so from the bound that it will be forced further away 
and find it more difficult than ever to make a safe return. With 
this straight side-stroke, the player has the best control of the 
ball that can be secured, and if he follows it well with his racket 
in hitting it, he can direct the ball very closely to where he 
wants it to go. 



How to Play Lawn Tenuis 33 

III. — The Volley and Half-Volley. 
The most thoroughly American stroke of all those which are 
used in lawn tennis is the volley, and much of its modern de- 
velopment is due to American methods. Our players volley with 
much more aggressiveness than the Englishmen and their attack 
is much stronger and more effective in consequence. A great 
part of the volleying abroad is underhand, the ball being struck 
from below the level of the net and must be lifted back over 
its top again before it can seek a vulnerable point of the adver- 
sary's court. This naturally lessens its power of attack and 
makes it more of a defensive stroke. 

Americans, on the other hand, rush in much closer to the 
net and volley sharper and faster, hitting the ball at the top of 
its flight and driving it downward with a sharp stroke. They 
smash much more, too, than their English cousins and seldom 
fail to take advantage of an opening for a killing stroke, when 
'.he foreigners often satisfy themselves by keeping the ball in 
^lay with underhand volleys that do not kill. 

i My advice to any young player who wants to learn to volley 

mderhand is — don't do it at all. At best it is a defensive stroke. 

jind a volley should never be allowed to be defensive. If driven 

)ack from the net so far that it is impossible to reach the ball 

oefore it has fallen so low as to make an underhand volley 

'iccessary, it is much preferable for the player to fall back still 

urther and make a ground-stroke instead of a low volley. The 

icsition is stronger and stroke is likely to be much better. 

. Horizontal volleying is the most important of all, and upon 

lis skill at that depends a large part of a phyer's success at net 

ilay. Once safely ensconced at the net. all fast returns offer 

orizontal volleys and only the lobbed balls give openings for 

verhead volleying or smashing. The most important point in 

orizontal volleying is to hold the wrist very stiff and to meet 

(he ball with a rigid racket that does not give at all from the 

'npact. One should never vollev upward either ; it is better to 

trike a little downward and if the ball is too close to the net 

p!3 direct it downward at once, the face of the racket can be 




LARxNED'S BACKHAND STROKE. 



// o 70 to r I a y L a iv n T e n n is 35 

bevelled slightly upward to keep the ball from going into the net. 

The racket should be drawn back eighteen inches or two feet 
as the ball comes toward you, and then brought forward with a 
quick, determined stroke that meets the ball with a sharp blow 
and follows it as far as possible. To merely stop a ball without 
striking it, or even after striking it, to relax the grip of the 
racket so that it gives, when the ball meets it, means to rob 
the volley of all its life and snap, and to make a weak return 
;)f the stroke. Except for the tricky "stop-volley" which is 
rapidly coming into use for grass court play against a base- 
line player, the ball should always be hit firmly and sharply and 
the direction controlled by turning the wrist in one direction or 
another at the last second before striking the ball. 

These stop-volleys are made by close net players by holding 
the racket rather loosely and merely stopping a fast drive at 
the net and allowing the ball to fall just over into the opposite 
court and drop there lifeless with little or no bound. If the 
Dpponent is far back in his court and not expecting this play, he 
is seldom able to get up to the net in time to reach the ball before 
it bounds the second time. It is possible to bring off these stop- 
v^olleys successfully, however, only when the volleyer is very 
dose to the net, so close in fact that he is in danger of having 
;he ball lobbed over his head. The correct play against a 
volleyer who gets in so close as this is always to lob over his 
liead, for he is seldom able to 1)ack away in time to volley the 
lall. and generally has to let it bound and return it with another 
ob. 

Overhead volleying or smashing is much like serving. The 
ilayer should reach as high as possible over his head and strike 
:he ball from over his right shoulder with as much force as 
possible. In smashing, the weight should be thrown far forward 
md the additional impetus of the bodv's swing added to the force 
3f the blow. The obiect of a smash is to kill a dropping ball by 
:he sheer speed of the blow, rather than the accuracy of its plac- 
ing, but many well-smashed balls are returned by the opponent, 
md the player should not lose his balance entirely, for then he 



36 H o 7v t o r I a y L a 7c> n T e n n i s 

will not be reach' f.)r the next stroke in case his antagonist should 
return his first smash. 

It is never safe to risk a smash if behind the service-line, 
and a ball that is going to fall further back than that should be 
volleyed rather than smashed. Smashing is very much over- 
done anyway. It is quite unnecessary to smash many short lobs 
that come to a player during the course of a game, for an ordi- 
narily fast overhead volley to some remote part of the court 
where it is well out of the reach of the opponent is quite as 
effective as a smash, and reduces materially the chance of error 
without weakening the chances of winning the ace. When a 
volley will kill the ball, a player should never risk a smash or 
waste his strength on the play either. 

Half-volleying is only a makeshift at best to cover up a 
mistake in position. A player should never half-volley if it is 
possible to make any other stroke. He should go back and play 
off the ground, or run forward to meet the ball and volley the 
return. Some of the English players half-volley aggressively 
from choice, even when it is possible for them to avoid the 
stroke, but this play has been fostered and practiced because of 
the volleying position of the Englishmen, many feet further 
from the net than that which the Americans prefer. The conse- 
quence is that many balls drop at their feet when they are in 
their customary position for volleying, at the service-line, and 
they get used to half-volleying instead of shifting position to get 
the ball either on the volley or after it has risen well from the 
ground. 

IV. — The Lob. 
The lob is a stroke that used to be considered only useful 
for defence, but modern American methods have brought it 
into common play both for attack and defence, and it has now 
become recognized as a general stroke of the game. Primarily, 
it is used either to get the ball out of th^ reach of an opponent 
at the net waiting to volley it, or to save time by knocking the 
ball high into the air while you get back into position or recover 
your "wind," if out of breath. 




START OF A BACKHAND STROKE. 

Miss Marion Jones. 



38 H o IV t o F I a y L a 7u n T e ii n i s 

Some players find it difficult to kill a lobbed ball, and in a 
tournament match the ability to lob well may prove of great 
advantage against an antagonist. If hard pressed, it also fur- 
nishes a breathing spell that may be just enough to save the set. 
The ball should be played high into the air and well back, in the 
opponent's court. The lob short is sure death, and one had 
better not lob at all than to lob short of the service-line. The 
ball should be hit with confidence and with force behind it, 
not hesitatingly, as though the player were afraid the stroke 
would be a failure. This uncertain way of lobbing is the most 
dangerous of all. 

Of recent years, however, still another use has come into 
play for the lob, and this is the result of the American habit of 
getting in close to the net to volley. Once the opponent gets 
in closer than the usual net position, when less than ten feet 
from the net, the overhead attack can be started by lobbing, 
and he can quickly be driven away from his advantageous posi- 
tion. A low lob, just out of his reach, sometimes scores a clean 
ace, and even a high one will often force him to turn and run 
back in his court to return the ball. 

A young player should alwa3^s practice lobbing enough to he 
certain of the play. It is always useful and one can never tel! 
when he will have to bring the stroke into use. Nothing is more 
demoralizing, too, than to lob short and have the ball killed so 
hard that you have not a chance to reach it. Before an import- 
ant match, it is a good plan to practice lobbing for some time, 
and the question of length should be watched closely, for a 
good lob should always fall between the service-line and the 
base-line — better yet. within ten feet of the base-line. 

I have often spent an hour with a patient friend on the other 
side of the net. practicing just this one stroke, and the result 
justified all my hard work, for it gave me command of a play 
that served me in good stead whenever I got into anv kind of 
difficulties. It is the most perfect defence that can be found. 
and against any but a very strong smasher, it often becomes '' 
strong attack. 



How to Play L a iv n Tennis 3g 



The American Twist Service 

There has been a good deal of mystery surrounding the Ameri- 
can twist services which have recently become so prominent in 
the international matches. As a matter of fact, there should be 
no mystery at all in regard to this play, as it is simply a scien- 
tific development of the common underhand twist strokes adapted 
for overhead play with the additional speed which has made the 
new^ stroke so formidable. It is a common error to call these 
deliveries "reverse twasts." for, as a matter of fact, the only re- 
verse twist overhead service in use among the experts is that de- 
livered by Champion Whitman, while the twist service used by 
Davis, Ward and Alexander have all the natural out twist. As 
Davis is a left-handed player, his service "breaks" from the 
ground in the opposite direction from those deliveries by right- 
handed players. 

Ever ;:ince the early days of baseball the scientific theory of 
curving a ball in the air has been well understood. The top of 
a carriage wheel travels faster than the bottom, because its axis 
is moving aliead all of the time, and in the same way the friction 
on the side cf a ball which is twisting on its own axis is greater 
on the side which is going fastest through the air — the right- 
har.d side in a right-twist delivery and vice versa. The rougher 
the surface of any spherical body the more it will curve in the 
air, because the friction becomes greater against the particles of 
the air itself. The rough felt covering of a lawn tennis ball 
causes more friction than a leather-covered baseball and conse- 
quently the tennis ball curves more in the air. 

The secret of success in making this new twist service is not 
to make the ball curve so much to one side or the other as to 
curve downward in its flight like the "drop" of a modern base- 
ball pitcher. It is necessary to make a tennis ball drop quickly 
after crossirg the net if it is to be served with much speed and 



40 How to Play Lawn T e fi n i s 

still strike within the boundary of the service court. To accom- 
plish this the ball must be hit on top as much as possible, and the 
secret of the new twist service lies in reaching over the ball and 
striking it from above as well as one side. The racket strings 
are drawn across the cover of the ball as much as possible, the 
ball taking the strings near one edge of the frame and leaving at 
the other side. To do this a very quick side motion is required, 
and it is this that gives the ball its rapid spinning motion. 

It has been a mystery to many why a tennis ball should bound 
in the opposite direction from its curve, but if one will apply the 
principle of the "English" in billiards he will understand at once 
the reason. In the overhand out twist, as served by Ward and 
Alexander, the ball spins sharply on its own axis, combining the 
effect of right-hand English and the "follow" shot in billiards — 
in other words, it spins exactly like a billiard ball when hit for a 
follow shot with right English. It curves to the (server's) left 
in seeking the line of the least resistance (which is a comnion 
rule in all physics) because of the greater friction on its right 
side, and it curves downward in its flight because of the greater 
friction on its top side. 

Instantly the ball strikes the ground it breaks to the right be- 
cause the spinning motion drags it that way when it comes in con- 
tact with the ground, just the same as a billiard ball with right 
English will rebound to the right when it strikes the cushion of 
the table. Thus we have the double motion in this new twist 
service, which has puzzled so many who have played against it. 
The reason why its effect has been greater with American than 
with English balls is because the surface covering of the Ameri- 
can ball is rougher than that of the English, and the resistance in 
going through the air becomes greater in consequence. The ball 
gets a sharper twist from the racket because the rougher cover 
makes it cling longer to the string. 

The service used by Whitman has the reverse twist, his racket 
removes from (his) right to his left, the ball curves from left 
to right, and breaks again to the left as it leaves the ground. 
Davis's service has the same curves and the same effect as Whit- 
man's, but Davis reaches very much further over the ball, hitting 



H 7v to Play L a zv n Tennis 41 

it faster and making it bound deeper. It is an out twist and not 
a reverse twist, however, because Davis plays with his left hand 
and the racket travels away from his body, not across it. The 
service used by Ward and Alexander is an out twist made with 
the right arm, the racket traveling away from the body to the 
(server's) right; the ball curves from right to left, and breaks 
'sharply to the right again after leaving the ground. 

In Whitman's case the racket travels across in front of his 
body and the tendency in making this reverse twist is to throw 
the server off his balance, and to make it doubly difficult for him 
to run in to th.e net to volley the first return. In the case of the 
out twist, it is just the reverse, and Ward is said to have in- 
vented this service in an effort to get the impetus of the racket 
to help him get in motion quicker after serving in his hurry to 
reach the net for the volleying position. 

In each case where this out twist service has been successful 
the server bends very far backward and drops his racket down 
far behind his back before making the stroke. In each case, 
too, he reaches well up over the ball, and the more he hits it 
on top, the more speed he can secure and still make the ball drop 
enough to fall inside of the service court. There is a tendency 
also to ease up slightly on the inside edge of the racket so that 
the strings will follow the ball longer and give it a sharper twist 
in making the stroke. 

This new American twist service is physically very severe on 
its users, and tires the muscles of the back and stomach more 
than those of the arms, because of the sharp bending backward 
as the stroke is made. There is no secret about it, however, 
and the fact that Alexander has successfully learned to use it 
simply through watching Ward make the service and practising 
it steadily is proof that any other player can learn this stroke 
who will give enough time and conscientious effort to learn it. 
The keynote to success, however, lies in hitting the ball well 
on top with a very sharp twist, the ball rolling across the entire 
face of the strings before it leaves it. and in striking it very 
much harder than would be possible to bring an ordinary service 
within the court. 



42 How to Play L a -w n 1 e ti n i s 



Styles and Skill of the Expert Players. _ 

No matter how much one may have learned from books of 
instruction, the best method of learning to play lawn tennis 
well is to watch some expert tournament player at work, and 
then to copy his style. Many men have become experts them- 
selves in just this way. Not more than once in a hundred times 
does a player become skillful and win much success at the game 
without playing in good form. That is one of the first essentials 
to success, and it is generally safe to copy the style of any clever 
player. 

Larned, the present champion, is a model of good form in all 
of his plays, but few players have been able to copy his style. 
He is a natural, easy, graceful player, to wdiom every stroke seems 
to come easy. He seldom seems to make any effort, yet the ball 
travels fast from his racket and with unerring precision in the 
direction that he wills it. He hits the ball with a long, graceful 
sweep that directs it accurately, and his placing strokes are little 
short of marvelous. 

Ex-champion Whitman is an expert of another type. He is 
a crafty, cautious player of the opposite style from the dashing 
Larned, and a much safer player to copy, for his style is one that 
wins the greater number of matches, beside the fact that it is 
cultivated while that of the champion is born in one. Whitman 
crouches a good deal in making his strokes, particularly on the 
backhand side and he slices under the ball more than most Ameri- 
can players do. He is particularly free in all his strokes, how- 
ever, and has a more certain command of the ball than even 
Larned. 

Davis is a thundering hard-hitter who takes wonderful risks, 
often unnecessary ones. Where one player might succeed at this 



H o TV to Play Lawn Tennis 43 

style of play, a hundred would fail — yes, a thousand. Less strength 
in the stroke, a little less speed in smashing and fewer risks 
taken in placing ground-strokes into the furthermost corners of 
the court are likely to earn quite as many successes. 

Ex-champion Wrenn is perhaps the highest ideal of a winning 
player, and if a young player wants some style to copy, his is the 
best. He has all the defensive genius of Whitman, with a 
stronger attack and a much better net game. Wrenn uses 
his weight in the stroke better than does Whitman and manages 
to make the ball travel faster without materially greater risk of 
error. He was a master of defence at his best, and also a master 
of attack, and best of all, a general in tactics. One could not do 
better than to copy his style. 

The English experts, like Mahony, for instance, have a dif- 
ferent style of playing their backhand strokes from that most used 
in America, and it is much safer although perhaps not so bril- 
liant for passing strokes. They carry the wrist very low in 
backhand play and the head of the racket passes under the ball 
after making the stroke, instead of following it so long as do the 
American rackets. This style has the merit of being much 
more certain of return than ours, but the ball is not so easdy 
turned off one way or another. 

Hobart is another hard hitter, but of a different type from 
Davis. He does not take so many chances as the St. Louis 
expert, and confines most of his efforts to hard ground-strokes 
from the base-line. The ball travels fast and low with a sharp 
up-twist, like the famous old Lawford stroke, but it has a long 
bound and is not difficult to return, if the opponent is active and 
certain enough in his returns. The weakness of Hobart's style is 
his lack of volleying, but his ground-stroke might well be copied 
if one can add good volleying to make the net game an important 
factor as well. 

Stevens is the typical base-line player of the country. It is 
literally true that he never volleys at all in a match. He has 
a perfect command of the ball after it has bounded and he hits 
it both hard and accurately. This style of base-line play is all 
right for defence, if the player has enough strength to last almost 




THE ENGLISH STYLE OF BACKHAND- 
(H. S. Mahony,) 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 45 

indefinitely, but it is very weak for attack. Its chief weapon of 
attack is the passing stroke, and Stevens always tries to draw 
his opponent into the volleying position near the net so that he 
may pass him with a fast ground-stroke or lob over his head. 

Ward is the reverse of Stevens, practically all of his skill lying 
in his volleys, and he runs into the net at every opportunity to 
take the volleying position. His ground-strokes are inclined to 
be weak, and against a good passer he is always at a disadvantage 
because he cannot hold up his end if kept away from the net by 
the accuracy of his opponent's passing. Once Ward reaches the 
ball near the net, however, it is pretty certain to be killed, for he 
has a great variety of killing strokes on the volley, and uses them 
with rare judgment. Ward's style is not a good one to copy, 
unless one has learned to play ground-strokes first, for Ward's 
skill at volleying has reached a point that few can ever reach, 
and without it he would not be very good. 

Among the women players, Aliss Marion Jones's style is per- 
haps the best to copy. She hits the ball with a long free sweep 
like that of a man. and gets more speed in her returns than most 
other women players. Miss Moore, the champion, has not so 
much speed in her backhand strokes, which slice the ball too 
nuich, but her forehand drives are fast and generally well placed. 
She is probably the best volleyer in the country among the 
women, too. Still, for all-round skill and style, Miss Jones is the 
better model, for her strokes are made in better form than those 
of the champion. 

However, it is safe to copy almost any successful player, but 
one thing should always be borne in mind. For a young player 
just learning the finer points of the game: It is the height of 
folly to confine all efforts to one style of play or to one particu- 
lar stroke. It is in the variety of strokes that the greatest skill 
lies, and the more a player is able to vary his strokes, the better 
will be his siiccess in tournament matches. 



46 How to Play L a 7u n Tennis 



How to Build and Keep a Court. 

Notliing is more important for the full enjojancnt of lawn 
tennis than a satisfactory court, and none of the other acces- 
sories of the game offers a wider variety. Many important 
considerations come up even after the kind of court to be built, 
and the cost, have been decided upon. No matter how much is 
to be spent on the ground, nor what the surface is to be, the 
most important things to consider first are space, light and drain- 
age. 

The back-stop nettings should never be nearer than fifteen feet 
from the lines, and if good players are expected to use the court, 
particularly if tournament matches are to take place on it, the 
space behind the base-line should be 21 feet at each endr At the 
sides at least 6 feet, if possible 12 feet should be allowed beyond 
the side-lines for doubles of each court. A well-appointed court 
for tournament play should be centered in an unobstructed space 
of not less than 60x120 feet. Wire back-stop netting 10 or 12 
feet high should surround it at these distances from the lines. 
If there are two or more courts together, there should be at least 
12 feet between their side-lines, and one netting can surround all. 

In selecting a site for a court, a spot should be chosen where 
there is always plenty of sunlight, and where at no time of the 
day does any shadow cross the ground on which the court is to 
be laid. Green or black is a preferable background to play 
against, but any dark and even color will do. A court should 
never be laid out with any very light background within a short 
distance at either end, or close at either side. Nor should a 
site be selected with a badly mixed or moving background. 
Shade trees are useful near a court, only if their shadow is a 
solid one, not constantly checkered by flecks of sunlight glittering 
through moving branches, which constantly confuse the players. 



48 How to Play Lawn Tennis 

Never should they be allowed near enough to cast any shadows 
on the playing surface. 

One more cardinal point should be remembered. The court 
should invariably be laid out north and south — nev-er east antj 
west. If this warning is disregarded, the player at one end or the 
other will be hopelessly blinded by the sun. 

The question of drainage is one of the most important con- 
siderations in selecting a site of this kind. On the natural fa- 
cilities depends largely the cost of laying out a good court. If 
the natural soil be sandy and well drained, or if it is on high 
ground which slopes away near by, artificial drainpipes will not 
have to be put in, and this saves much of the cost, but if it be 
thick clay that holds moisture long, or on low ground with 
neighboring slopes that drain toward it, the court will be useless 
for many hours after each rainfall unless artificial drain-pipes 
are put in. 

After the site has been selected, it must be decided whether 
a grass or "dirt" court is to be built. If the natural sod is 
luxuriant and the soil favorable for its growth, or if the court 
is not to be used enough to wear off the grass, a turf court will 
generally be found preferable, but if the ground is to be con- 
stantly in use, the sod will wear off and become "bald" unless 
there is space enough on the lawn to shift the court frequently. 

When good turf cannot be had or will not stand the wear, 
a substitute must be found, and sand or gravel courts are most 
often used. On well-drained land, one can sometimes cut away 
the top surface, level the ground and roll it until well hardened 
and the court is ready for use, but more preparation is necessary 
to build a permanent court that will not be constantly losing its 
proper level. 

For such a court the earth should be cut away to a depth 
of one foot if no drains are required. After leveling it care- 
fully with a spirit-level, to be sure that the grade is right, a 
layer of six inches of broken stone should first be laid and 
pounded down hard. Ordinary trap-rock used for macadamiz- 
ing roads is perhaps the best for this purpose, but any broken 
stone, ranging in sizes from a walnut to an egg, will answer 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 49 

the purpose. This should be covered with a three-inch layer 
of coarse gravel or fine broken stone, which should be thor- 
oughly pounded and watered for several days before being 
covered. Before any surface is put on the court, the greatest 
care should be taken to see that the foundation is perfectly 
level, or, rather that the center of it is not more than eight or 
less than four inches lower than at the ends. Any holes or 
depressions that appear from rolling and pounding should be 
filled in before it is covered. 

Every well-built court should be graded toward the net, and 
a drain-pipe, well protected with broken stone should be sunk 
at right angles to the court, dividing it in halves at the net. 
Toward this gutter the surface of the court should be drained 
and the drain-pipe in turn should be tilted enough to carry the 
water to one side well off the groiuids, into some lower spot, 
or be connected with some sunken hogshead or regular sewer. 
A surface grade of six inches is enough to keep the average 
court dry. The base-lines therefore should be six inches higher 
than the ground at the net, and if the soil is sandy enough to 
take up most of the water from the average rainstorm, no drain 
but that under the net will be necessary. 

Many courts are drained off to one side, while others have 
all the grade from one end to the other, but in either case the 
playing surface of the court is not true, and expert players 
will soon notice this fault. The surface is also gradually washed 
away by storms. A grade of six inches from either end down 
to the net not only leaves the court true for play, but is hardly 
noticeable. The drain under the net is easily kept free, if well 
filled with broken stone, and it carries off all the moisture from 
the court. Tn the heaviest storms a small pool of water settles 
here, but the drain soon sucks it all in and the surface soon 
dries up. 

If artificial drainage is necessary to keep the court dry, drain- 
pipes can be laid in the foundations of the court. This can be 
done by getting six-inch stone sewer-pipes cut in halves, or 
stone gutters used on tiled roofs, and sinking them in the 
ground, open side up, immediately under the foundation of 



i^O H zu to Play Lawn T e n n r s 

broken rock. Two or three should be placed on each side of 
the net, parallel with the side-lines and graded down toward 
the center gutter under the net. These pipes should be filled 
with coarse pebbles or cracked stones about the size of walnuts, 
and they keep the drains from filling up with earth. The water 
will then trickle through the coarse sand and stones to the pipes 
and be carried down to the main gutter and so ofif the court. 

The covering for a gravel or sand court should be not less 
than three nor more than six inches in thickness, and of sandy 
loam and clay mixed. The proportions depend on the quality 
of the clay. If it is very binding and sticky, two parts of sand 
to one of clay are preferable, but for the average ingredients 
they should be mixed about evenly. When the court is finished, 
if it is found to be too soft but dry. more clay should be added ; 
while if it drains poorly and stays muddy too long after rain, 
or its surface is too sticky for the player's feet, more sand 
should be added on the surface. When a court is finally covered, 
it should be thoroughly watered and rolled alternately twice ' 
every day for two weeks before it is played on at all, and any 
depressions or uneven spots corrected as fast as they appear 
from the settling. After the first heavy rainstorm it should be 
gone over and releveled most carefuly. for then it is most likely 
to develop new faults. 

The fine seashore sand will seldom be found satisfactory for 
the surface of a court, for it works loose too quickly under 
the players' feet, and can only be made to bind when mixed 
with a larger proportion of clay, which will make the drainage 
more difficult, as water percolates very slowly through clay. If 
the soil upon which a court is being built is very rich and worms 
promise to work through to the surface above and injure the 
court, it is well to lay a layer of fine cinders, those from a rail- 
road engine preferred, between the foundation and the sandy 
surface layer. These cinders effectually prevent worms from 
coming through to the surface. It is also well to use coarse 
sifted ashes mixed with the stones in the drain-pipes. 

The construction of a grass court is less diflficidt, but varies 
much more in process. If cost need not be considered, it shoulfl 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 51 

be built by a professional, and will be laid on deep-laid founda- 
tions ; if it is desired to build an economical court on an avail- 
able lawn which is fairly level, the cost will not be heavy. The 
sod should first be carefully removed in squares of about eighteen 
inches, from a space at least 50 by 100 feet, cutting down to a 
depth of about six inches. The ground should then be turned 
with a spade to a depth of eighteen inches or two feet, and 
after all stones have been removed, and the earth carefully raked 
over and leveled, it should be packed and rolled with a heavy 
roller. It cannot have too much leveling and rolling, and the 
rolling should be kept up for several days with plenty of soaking 
by rain or hose-pipe. Any inequalities which the heavy pressure 
of the roller produces should be filled in or cut down before the 
sods are relaid. 

After the ground has been rolled sufficiently the sods should 
be replaced. In doing this it is important to get the edges close 
together, so that no seams or open cracks can be found. These 
sods should be relaid in the afternoon and well drenched with 
water. The next day the ground should be rolled again; and 
this should be followed by alternate drenching and rolling for 
several days. Even when the ground finally appears firm and 
level, the court should not be played upon until new blades of 
grass appear in considerable numbers. If depressions appear, 
the sod at that spot should be lifted, fresh earth inserted to the 
proper grade and the sod replaced, watered and rolled till level 
and flat again. 

Bad spots are often found where the grass is thin or where 
malignant weeds obstruct its growth, and in this case fresh 
sods should be bought or cut elsewhere and substituted. Some- 
times large patches of ground must be renewed in this way, but 
it will be found much less expensive if all the turf is bad to 
sow the new court down with lawn seeds, and seeds will often 
help out thin spots in the grass if the court is not to be used 
too soon after the sowing. It is better to make a grass court 
in the fall whether it is to be sown with seed or sodded. The 
winter storms will then settle it thoroughly, and after a little 
releveling in the spring it will be ready for use. 



52 H -d) to Play Lawn Tennis 

Grass seeds should be sown between the middle of March and 
the first of Alay, or better yet, in the autumn, between the middle 
of August and the first of October. It takes about 20 pecks of 
good lawn seed to cover a space 60 by 120 feet. The sowing 
should be gone over twice, the second time time at right angles 
to the first. Clover seeds should be avoided, as this grass does 
not wear well, and guano should not be used for fertilizing, 
for it tends to bring up coarse blades in patches. 

As soon as the young grass is high enough to be topped, a 
scythe or sycle should be used, being at first better than the 
mowing machine. After the new grass is well hardened, how- 
ever, the latter should be constantly in use, never less than once 
a week, and in moist warm weather nearly every day. With 
every precaution weeds are sure to appear, but these can gen- 
erally be held in check by constant mowing. The more formid- 
able weeds, however, must be cut with a knife one by one about 
an inch below the surface, and care being taken to remove as 
much of the root as possible. A pinch of salt dropped on the 
cut root will generally stop the growth. When the turf becomes 
worn in spots a small shift in the lines of the court will relieve 
the pressure and enable the grass to grow again ; at the end of 
the season all of the bare patches should be resown. 

There are several other kinds of courts sometimes built when 
turf cannot be had. Instead of sand or gravel what we generally 
speak of as "dirt" courts are most often used. Cinders, clay, 
concrete, cement and asphalt are also sometimes used, while 
board courts are built under cover for winter use. 

Concrete and cement are open to many objections. They are 
very hard on the eyes and legs, and often make the player's feet 
sore ; the surface generally wears out the balls and shoes quickly, 
and it is also liable to crack with frost. Cinder courts are cheap 
and easy to construct, but the surface is so gritty that it burns 
the feet of the players and soon uses up the balls. They arc 
also very dirty. Asphalt courts are expensive and much affected 
by heat and cold, sometimes even cracking with the frost. 

In Australia court have been made of cracked blue-stone, while 
a cheaper substitute has been found in England in what is called 
a brick rubble court. 



54 H 7v to Play L a iv n I e n n i s 

Once the court is finally built and ready for use, it must be 
properly marked out. In every case, unless it be of grass, and 
the lines are to be constantly shifted to prevent bare spots, net- 
posts should be permanently sunk in the ground. They should 
be not less than two feet under the ground nor forty feet apart. 

A double court contains every line used for smgles, and so 
it is customary to mark a court for doubles, except occasionally 
for imported tournament matches in singles, when the outside 
lines are left off. In order to lay out a court properly the 
middle of the space should be measured and the two posts 
set down for the net. Then cord should be stretched along 
one side just inside the post and pegs driven down into the 
ground each 39 feet from the net. In order to prove that 
the side-lines are at right angles with the line of the posts 
where the net is to cross it should be proved by measuring 
with a tape-line or cord the diagonals from the opposite net- 
post to the corner peg at each end of the side-line, which should 
agree. 

The pegs from the other two corners should be driven down 
next by measuring 36 feet at right angles from each end of 
the side-line already planned. Then you have a hollow square, 
but before marking any of the lines it should be proved again. 
The long diagonals, from corner to corner, should be careful 1\' 
measured to agree, in order that the court shall be exact 1\ 
rectangular, not diamond shaped. Each side-line and each base 
line should be gone over again to prove its length accurate, 
and then the lines of this hollow square should ■ be marked 
out. If the position of the court is not to be shifted it is a 
good plan to sink small angle plates to mark these four corner^ 
so that when a hard storm washes away the lines, they will not 
have to be laid out all over again. 

The inner side-lines should be put in next, each parallel with 
the outer lines, and 4^-4 feet inside, measuring them at the 
base-lines and at the net to prove them parallel. On each of 
these pegs should be driven down just 18 feet from either 
end. and then they should be measured the other way to prove 
that each is 21 feet from the net and 42 feet from that at the 



H o 70 to Play L a zc n Tennis 55 

opposite end. Across from each of these to that on the opposite 
side, should be marked the service-lines, and then dividing 
these service-lines in half, the half-court line should be marked, 
its distance being 13^ feet from each inner side-line. The court 
will then be Completed and ready for use. 

A good dirt court should be swept, watered, rolled and 
freshly marked out after every eight or ten sets of play, and 
oftener in very dry weather. Instantly a depression is dis- 
covered it should be filled in and rolled down before playing 
is continued, for it is almost as dangerous for the players as 
the court to continue with it uneven. A court should never 
he rolled in the condition the players leave it after play. A 
player's heel raises a little lump ; if the roller goes over this 
before it is swept down even again, a hard ridge results and 
the ball wnll bound unevenly from it. It should be swept over 
first, until all the lumps are leveled do\vn, before the roller is 
allowed on its surface. 

One of the best sweepers is made of a heavy joist of wood 
with a dozen thicknesses of old jute bagging or coarse cloth 
frayed out at the bottom edges, fastened to its bottom and 
trailing on behind it. This should be drawn over the court 
with a handle or rope several times. If it is pushed, the 
groundsman's feet will leave tracks after it ; if he goes ahead 
the sweeper will erase them. Before the lines arc market out 
fresh, the old ones should ahvays be swept off with a broom, 
but if the broom is constantly used along the lines in a parallel 
' direction, it will gradually wear away little grooves in the 
court wher*e the lines are and the balls will bound improperly 
from them. The sweeping should be done lightly across the 
court, at right angles with the lines. 

A grass court cannot have too much care. It is advisable to 
wet it thoroughly several times a week and roll it as often. 
It should be watered at night, cut in the morning, and rolled 
after cutting and before watering. The best way to repair 
a bare strip of ground is to lay fresh turf, and this should be 
J done in the fall or as early as possible in the spring. Good 
■ tough turf, laid in February or early in March, will be fit for 



56 How to Play Lawn Tennis 

use by the first of June. In the early spring grass roots both 
in new turf and old may be greatly benefited by a good dressing 
of manure well worked in, but regular manuring should also 
be done in the fall. 

Worm casts are very bad for good tennis turf. Particularly 
in fertile ground or after a storm, the little mounds will appear 
on the sod, and if the roller passes over them or they are 
trodden down little hard lumps are formed which spoil the 
surface of the court. The turf should always be swept before 
rolling, and in rich soil every morning. This scatters the 
mounds effectually. Where it is necessary to get rid of the 
worms, lime water should be sprinkled on the ground. They 
will then come to the surface and can be swept away. 

When a horse mowing machine is used it is well to have 
the horse's hoofs covered with soft pads to prevent their cutting 
into the turf and leaving prints that affect the bound of the 
ball. The groundsman at work on good lawn tennis courts, 
particularly when the turf is soft, and always on a sand cour<^, 
should be required to wear rubber-soled shoes without heels. 



58 // o IV to Play La 7v n Tennis 



I 



New Thoughts on Training and Diet 

By Eustace H. Miles. ^^ 

[From the London Daily Mail.] ^H 

Before I outline my system of training let me also say that 
I have put it to very severe tests. It has held good in the sever- 
est heat (in New York) and in the severest cold (in New York, 
Tuxedo, and Montreal). At Montreal I played three complete 
racquet matches (not games) in succession without a bre^k. 
And in the United States I several times played three hard 
tennis matches in one day. Moreover, I can keep up this stan- 
dard of endurance without regular practice of the games. At 
the beginning of last year I lived an almost utterly sedentary life 
for three months, and then went off and played tennis hard for 
two hours. 

Nor have I ever found it necessary, because of the training, 
to discontinue my brainwork, even up to the very day of an 
important competition. Nor have I had a single breakdown, 
or indeed any appreciable staleness — the bugbear of athletes— 
since I changed my diet. 

In diet I do not hold to the absolute ideal, but I never go 
very far from it. A "hygienic ideal" would cut me off from 
most social meals altogether, and also perhaps from all stuffy 
and smoky rooms. So I keep myself slightly on the human 
side of supreme pinkness. I prefer two meals a day, at lo — ii 
and 4 — 5, or (with perhaps a fruit breakfast) at 12 — i and 6:30 — 
7 130. But I can eat five meals. 

I do not eat either flesh foods (fish, flesh, or fowl), or meat 
juices (in soups or otherv/ise), or eggs. Why not eggs? Because 
they do not suit me. Why not flesh foods? For the same rea- 
son and for many others. 

Instead of the undeniably nourishing and stimulating flesh 
foods I substitute what I find to be a not less nourishing basis 
and staple to give me proteid or albumen which shall rebuild 



the blood and cells of my body and repair its waste. We 
might, indeed, live on proteid matter alone, and with it, with the 
help of a few minerals (e. g., phosphates), renew every cell 
of the body, says Professor Sir Michael Foster. 

Professors Gamgee, Pavy, and Bungc, and Dr. Robert Hutchin- 
son, like most other authorities, insist on the importance of pro- 
teid, and set down our average daily amount at 4 to 5 ounces. 
This amount I easily get from milk-proteid (I use Plasmon), 
cheese, nuts (often milled or in nut-foods), wholemeal bread, 
or biscuits, peas or haricot beans or lentils (sometimes) ; the 
other elements of food I obtain chiefly from fruits, but some- 
times from well-prepared vegetables. 

Stimulants such as tea I do not altogether avoid. I never 
have smoked for more than a few seconds ; all attempts have al- 
ways made me ill. I can eat slowly ; for several days I gave 
my mouthfuls over sixty bites each. 

But to two practices I must adhere — to the deep full upward 
breathing through the nose ; and also to the daily air-and-light- 
bath for the whole body, together with rubbing, self-massage, 
sharp exercises, and stretching exercises. One of the greatest 
shocks of my life was when I was performing thus on the sands 
near Hunstanton and suddenly say two undergraduates looking 
at me in fear and wonder from behind a rock. I now air-bathe 
in my bedroom. I can find no air-bath near London, queer 
London. 

As to exercise, I never lift or carry weights except when I 
go shopping with ladies — this I do rarely. I consider that most 
weight-lifting tends to slowness and stiffness. My movements 
are chiefly brisk and full. 

Equally important in my system is muscular relaxing; not 
mere stillness and not mere slackness, but freedom and econ- 
omy. 

Of course, in athletics we should relax most of the unused 
muscles. But I go further. I purposely relax my arms and 
hands, my legs and feet, my neck and spine. I relax my face, 
and smile (when I am alone). Why should I be tense and clench 
my fists and look almost as fierce as great American millionaires 



6o H o 7l' to r I a y -L a 7V n 1 e n n i s j^H 

and politicians do in their photographs? I cannot sec a reason. 
So I try to look calm and not waste valuable energy in a worse 
than valueless way. 

During brainwork I almost invariably aim at repose of the 
muscles — open channels through which, as through unknotted in- 
dia-rubber pipes, the life-forces may smoothly flow. It is easiest 
to relax during the slow breathing outwards. It seems vital 
for me to relax both before and after great physical or mental 
efforts. That is a personal experience. Here, as with diet, I 
dare not suggest a law. I dare only suggest a plan worth trying. 
Experientia docet. Experience must be our teacher. By their 
fruits ye shall know them. If worry and anxiety be thus re- 
moved, have we not here the cheapest of all nerve sedatives? 

Water seems to me to have at least two distinctive functions. 
Warm water serves to soothe, and to cleanse. Let it be soft, 
whether it be rain-water or water distilled or else softened by 
oatmeal or some "salts," and let it be used with pure sor.;^ and 
friction. Cool or cold water serves to Invigorate and harden. 
Cool or cold water should be used after warm water. The body 
may be sponged part by part, just as air-baths may be partial. 
And then should follow rubbing, and perhaps exercise, and 
certainly stretching of the limbs. How sadly we need it ! 

Sandals may be worn whenever one has the courage. 

Though one of the greatest pleasures of my life was to have 
done over sixteen hours of hard brainwork in a day — once I 
reached eighteen — yet among the greatest pleasure I also reckon 
the consciousness of energy and endurance. I utterly disbelieve 
in the negative theory of health — that one should not be aware 
of the body. It ought to be a real joy to live. I love to feel 
each muscle tingle and thrill. I love to have to move briskly 
every now and then especially with the shoulders and the legs, 
from sheer vitality. Surely our healthy nerves should be to us 
a joy rivalling the joy from taste or music. 

Let us sum up my way by contrasting it with orthodox train- 
ing. When a man — say a rowing man at Cambridge — goes into 
training he gives up this and that, and he generally gives up much 
of his brainwork. I always am in training, and I give up nothing. 



I only devote myself more than usual to my own tested princi- 
ples. I practice my games, of course. But I also practice 
an increased and more jealous Tightness of life. I do not alter 
my lines, I only keep them with more decided strictness. If 
my physical training did not make me fitter for every department 
and plane of life I should conclude that there was some mistake 
at the root of it. And, for the most part, mine are lines to which 
anyone can keep, and should keep if fair trial commend them. 




am 



mm 



i3ii» 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 63 



What to Use for Lawn Tennis 

To the majority of those vt'ho play lawn tennis, the racket is 
practically the only implement of play which has to be selected 
by them personally. This, then, is the article in which the greater 
number are interested and it shall therefore be considered first. 
Naturally the list of styles and qualities on the market is a long 
one, but the line which is recognized as standard, and in which 
will be found the greater number of approved models, is that 
made up by A. G. Spalding & Bros. 

In tennis the social status of the players is more nearly equal 
than in such games as base ball, foot ball, etc., and the differ- 
ences in prices between rackets which appear to the unpracticed 
eye as very much alike cannot be accounted for by a desire of 
the manufacturers to make up goods to suit pocketbooks of var- 
ious sizes. The gradations of price in these goods occur more 
particularly on account of some detail of manufacture which 
makes the more costly, at the same time the more suited, to the 
expert player than the cheaper grades on which the same amount 
of labor cannot be expended, and consequently these latter do not 
possess the same nicety of balance and perfection of finish which 
is found in the better grades. 

The selection of a racket is something that the player should 
attend to personally. Balance and weight must be considered 
well before making a purchase, and much care should be exer- 
cised in picking out a racket which feels good to handle, not 
heavy enough to appear clumsy, nor light enough to make a fast 
service an impossibility. For a man of ordinary strength 14 or 
14^ ounces will generally suit — seldom heavier than this and 
very rarely below. The wrist is the determining factor. The 
handle generally preferred is the combed cedar or mahogany, 
which is just rough enough to give a good grip. 

The Spalding Model Rackets are modeled after those used 
by the best players of recent years. With beveled frame, combed 




'^^m 



^*mmi: 



^mwm 





How to Play La run Tennis 65 

mahogany handle and polished mahogany throatplece, Models A 
and D cost $7.00. They are well taped at bow, and in finish and 
quality of material they cannot be surpassed. Model C costs 
$7.50 and is equipped with spliced cane handle extending through 
the walnut throatpiece, but otherwise is identical in quality with 
Models A and D, Corresponding with these, but with handles 
much larger to suit players who desire them so, Models AA, DD 
and CC complete the line of Spalding highest quality rackets, on 
which no expense has been spared to make them absolutely the 
finest in material and workmanship and the most perfect in model 
of any so far produced. 

The Spalding Ocomo costs $6.00, and is made up particularly 
for ladies' use. It is made of finest white ash with rounded 
edges, taped bow and mahogany throatpiece. At the same price 
the Spalding Tournament is sterling value and will give excel- 
lent satisfaction. The next mentioned in the order of price is 
the Spalding 'Varsity at $5.00, although the 'Varsity Cork 
Handle at $5.50 must not be forgotten ; both are modeled on the 
Expert Spalding shape. Popular still, although the model is 
not approved by some of the newer players, the Spalding Slocum 
at $4.00 each and the Slocum Junior at $3.00 each, are welcomed 
by players who have clung to this game through its various vicis- 
situdes as they do to this model, recognizing in both sterling 
qualities valuable both to a game and an implement of play. 

Beginners may want rackets cheaper in price than those men- 
tioned above, but no matter what price is paid for it, value com- 
, mensurate with price is found in all which bear the Spalding 
trade mark. The Vantage costs $3.50, the Lakeside $2.50, both 
well worth the price, but a dollar's difference between the two. 
The latter racket is also made in a special model with a handle 
somewhat larger than in the regular style. This is listed as 
No. 5X, and costs $2.50. After these come the Greenwood at 
$2.00, the Geneva at $1.50 and the Favorite at $1.00. The Prac- 
tice is a racket for children and costs 75 cents. , 

Take good care of your racket if you want it to give satisfac- 
tion. Remember, it is strung with material that is very suscep- 



®w* 1 






ITo 



to Play Lawn Tennis 



67 



tible to dampness, and when it breaks do not always blame the 
manufacturer. Dry heat will warp the frame, too, so that ex- 
tremes are to be avoided in the atmosphere of the room or closet 
where it is kept, and if play is continued in the evening until the 
dew is on the ground, or if court is near the sea, it is well to 
rub any moisture off the stringing with a cloth before putting 
the racket away in the case. If no case is in your possession, 
a press should be used to keep the frame in shape, this especially 
so at the seashore. 

The best racket case is the Spalding No. 5 ; it is made of stiff 
leather, holds one racket and costs $5.00. The same, but made 
for two rackets, is the Spalding No. 7, which costs $7.50. A very 




good mackintosh cover, thoroughly waterproof and substan- 
tially made, costs $1.00. This is the Spalding No. 4. One made 
of canvas, leather bound, listed as Spalding's No. 2, costs 75 
cents, while their No. i, made of soft felt in a variety of colors. 



costs 50 cents. 




By far the most practical 
form of press and one which 
will effectually prevent the: 
frame warping is the shape 
made by Spalding and listed as 
No. iR. It costs $1.00 each, 
and the same style, No. 2R, 
made to hold two rackets cost 
$2.00. 

Some players like a rubber 
covering for the racket handle 
to secure a better grip. These 
are made in two styles. With 



Hi 



to Play La 



e n 71 t s 



69 



/V 



circular corrugations, the Spalding No. i costs 25 cents, while 
the No. 2, with pin-head corrugations, costs 35 cents. Both 
are made of an excellent quality of rubber and are red in color. 
After the racket has been in use for a season or so, a necessity 
will very likely exist for restringing. This should be done in 
the proper manner, and it really pays in the end to have some re- 
liable firm do the work for you. Spalding uses three different 
qualities of gut for restringing and the prices are : for Best Eng- 
lish, $2.75; Best American, $1.75; Good American, $1.25 each. 
Remember, the frame of a racket can be pulled out of shape 
very easily by an inexperienced person in stringing, and the 
same rendered absolutely valueless thereby. Spalding employs 
experts, and if possible the racket frame is improved in shape 
after going through their hands rather than otherwise. 

When you purchase ten- 
nis balls, you do so per- 
haps after having played 
with those a friend pur- 
chased. His judgment 
may guide you in select- 
ing the brand, but at any 
^i^ rate don't rob the game of 
%^ -"^ half its good points by 
purchasing something that 
looks like what he used, 
but the similarity of which 
does not go below the felt 
cover. The best grade 
ball, and one that is guar- 
anteed absolutely perfection, is the Spalding Championship No. 
2/0, which costs $4.00 per dozen. The adopted ball is made by 
Wright & Ditson and costs $5.00 per dozen. A ball of uniform 
quality, carefully constructed and warranted to give satisfaction, 
is the Spalding Tournament No. o, which costs $3.50 per dozen. 
A cheaper grade of felt-covered ball is the Spalding Vantage at 
$3.00 per do^en. This latter will do for practice. 




:ll 






\, 



How to Play Lawn Tennis 71 

Although every one who wishes to play the game may not 
liave a place to play, it is generally possible to find a plot of 
yround which can be arranged suitably, and the expense of im- 
proving same and keeping it in good order borne by a small 
ircle among those of your friends who wish to play. If this 
:annot be done, the would-be player can generally obtain ad- 
nittance to some already organized club, while in some of the 
arger cities grounds are let out by the hour, so that the problem 
Df where to play need not bother the aspirant for honors on the 
ennis court if he makes an effort at all to obtain the information. 
Presuming that you have found a suitable plot of ground, have it 
jvorked vip to the point where it can be used for a tennis court. 
The next matter to consider will be the equipment that will be 
lecessary to fit it up for playing. „ 

The poles must be purchased first. They are made in a num- 
)er of styles and the prices range from one to twenty dollars 
er pair. If you want the best, most decidedly get the Spalding 
rhampionship No. A, which cost $20.00 and are worth every 
•enny of the price. They are square poles of 3)^ inch ash, finely 
lolished, with heavy japanned iron bases and ratchet crank of 
pecial design, with which the net can be drawn taut when it 
ags in the middle. An iron corkscrew holds the pole itself 
rmly in place, being fixed permanently in the ground marking 
he place where the poles should be set. To steady them in 
ase the ground is soft, iron clutches are included in the equip- 
lent furnished with them. The Spalding Tournament poles No. 
5 cost $10.00 per pair. The pole itself is made of square 2^-inch 
sh, finely finished, and the base of heavy japanned iron, a ratchet 
rank for tightening net being also placed on this pole. Iron pins 
or fastening the bases to the ground are packed with the poles. 
^ style that is absolutely first class and one which has steadily 
icreased in popularity during the years it has been on the mar- 
et, is the one that Spalding lists as the Casino No. C, and which 

sts $6.00 per pair. They are round poles, have heavy japanned 

on bases and pins for fastening to the ground, together with 
atchet crank for tightening net. If poles are required which are 



mo 





// 


1 


/ / 


/ 


/ 



How to Play L a w ti 7' e n n i s 



73 



to be left up permanently, by far the best style is the Spalding 
No. D, which costs $3.00 per pair. They have an iron bracket 
brace on the side to keep them firm and are nicely painted, makin^ 
a very handsome appearance. These are inserted eighteen inches 
into the ground and need no guy ropes or pegs. The Spalding 
No. "E poles cost $2.00 per pair. They are finely polished, solid 
and spiked, and are packed complete with guy ropes and pegs 
For $1.00 per pair you can obtain a fair quality pole— the Spald- 
ing No. F— also complete with guy ropes and pegs. 




Spalding's Championship 
Tennis Poles with Cork- 
screw and Wedge and 
Clutch for Soft Ground. 



Now as to the net. This will have to be selected according to 
whether you have a double or single court to fit out. Although 
:he Spalding No. i measures 27 feet and costs 75 cents, still even 
tor a single court it will be well to pick out a net measuring 
56 feet. The cheaper grades are machine made and the No. 2 




74 



H IV to Play Lawn Tennis 





\ ? 







Ho 



to r I a V Lawn Tennis 



75 



costs $1.00. A double court net 42 feet long, of same grade as 
these other two, costs $1.50. It is a question whether in the 
long run it is not better to get a good quality hand made net. 
It is also important to have it bound with a wide strip of white 
canvas at the top. This will help the players by enabling them to 
see the top of the net at a glance. Spalding's No. 2B, which 




Tournament I'ole. Casino Pole. Square Pole. 

measures 36 feet and is made of 21 thread white twine and can- 
vas bound, hand-made throughout, costs $3.00. The same grade, 
but 42 feet long— No. 3B— costs $3.50. Corresponding to these in 
machine made nets of 15 thread twine, the 36 foot' style, No. 2A, 
costs $2.00, and the 42 foot, No. 3A, $2.25. The Spalding Inter- 
collegiate nets have given excellent satisfaction and are very 



76 



H 7v to P I a V Lawn Tennis 




How to Play Lawn Tennis 



77 



popular. They are hand knit of 21 thread twine, and have extra 
wide white canvas strip at top. This style and quality is used at 
Newport and if desired tanned nets will be furnished at same 
price. No. 2E, Intercollegiate, 36 feet, 21 thread, costs $3.75, and 
the same, but measuring 42 feet. No. 3E, costs $4.25. A net with 
double centre should be used on a court where there are men 
who hit the ball hard and fast. This is a patented feature of the 
Spalding nets. The No. 2C is 36 feet long, with 11 feet of 15 
thread twine double knitted in the centre, and costs $4.50 each. 
No. 2D is the same, but of 21-thread twine, and costs $5.00 each. 
No. 2)^ costs $5.00, is 42 feet long and has 13 feet of 15 thread 
twine double knitted in the centre. The same, but of 21 thread 
twine, is listed as Spalding's No. 3D and costs $5.50. 

Where it is not convenient to take the net in every night it 
would be well to have a tarred net. No 2X is canvas bound, 36 
feet long, and is made of 21 thread twine. It will withstand 
the elements and give good satisfaction for a long time. It costs 




Canvas Centre Strap. 

$4.00. The same, but 42 feet long, No. 3X, costs $4.50. To keep 
the centre of the net at the required height a strap or fork should 
be used, preferably the former, as there is then no danger of 
the ball glancing off and striking out of court, as is occasionally 
the case with an iron centre fork. No. 3/0 Centre Strap costs 
$1.50 each, is Tournament Pattern and has a turnbuckle with 
which height of net can be adjusted to a hair. No 2/0 is a sim- 



L.ofC. 



78 



Ho 



to Play La 



Tennis 



ilar style and costs $i.oo each, but has not the turnbiickle attach- 
ment. Iron centre forks are made in two styles : No. i, regula- 
tion, patent stirrups, costs $i.oo, and No. 2, an ordinary iron 
fork, costs 60 cents. 

For the same reason that it is advisable to move the posts from 
time to time on a grass court in order to save the turf, it will 




Dry lennis Marker. 

also be necessary to have some arrangements for marking the 
lines afresh as they are rubbed or washed away. The Spalding 
dry marker No. 2 costs $2.00, and can be used on a dirt court 




Columbia Tennis Marker. 



Ho 



to Play Lawn Tennis 



79 



with marble dust, slaked lime, etc. The Columbia tennis marker 
costs $5.00 and is suitable particularly for marking grass courts. 
It has a tank to hold the marking solution and the tape runs over 
the wheel and through the solution giving a clean even ribbon 
line with contact in full view. , , 

It is well to have a set of marking plates for permanently mark- 
ing the angled of court. They are sunk to the level of the court 
and must not under any circumstances protrude above. Spalding 
makes two styles: No. i, with separate pins, costs $1.00 per set; 
No. 2, with wedge pins attached, $1.50 per set. Marking tapes 
will be found very useful and particularly convenient where 
one has to mark out the court himself. Spalding's No. 3 costs 
$3.50 per set, are for single court, and come complete with 100 





No. 1. No. : 

staples and pins. For double court three styles are made: No. 4 
costs $4.00 per set, complete with 200 staples and 14 pins ; No. 6 
are also for double court, but are made of extra quality canvas 
and cost $6.00 per set complete. Waterproof tapes are made in 
one style, Spalding's No. 7, for double court. They cost $8.oq 
per set complete. In each set the tapes are cut in proper lengths 
for each line of the court, and the staples and pins furnished are 
sufficient to secure it by using them at frequent intervals. 

Backstop nets will be required and for them also poles of 
suitable height. Spalding's BS poles cost $1.00 each. No. 4 net 
measuring 50 feet long by 7 feet high and made of 9-thread 
twine, costs $2.50. No. 5 net, 50 feet long by 8 feet high and 12- 
thread twine costs $3.00. Both of these are white. A tarred back- 
stop net is listed as No. 5X and costs $3.50. It is 50 feet long, 
8 feet high and made of 12-thread twine. 

By long odds, however, the finest arrangement for a portable 
backstop that has so far been placed on the market is the Spalding 



80 



Ho 



to Play Lawn Tennis 



sectional style of tubular iron upriglits and cross rods with gal- 
vanized iron wire netting. Each section measures 9 feet long 
by 7 feet high, and is hung separately so as to permit players to 
pass back and forth. Six sections all complete, measuring 54^ 




Spalding's Backstop Nets. 

feet long by 7 feet high, cost $25.00 and additional sections can 
be had at proportionate price. For fitting up a court complete, 
perhaps more than one set may be required, but they are well 
worth the price that is asked for them and will add considerably 
to the general appearance of the court. 




SPALDING'S 

MODEL 

RACKETS 

Model A 

Beveled frame, combed mahog- 
any handle, polished mahogany 
throat piece. 

No. U. Each, $7.00 
Model AA 

Extra large combed mahogany 

handle, polished mahogany 

throat piece, beveled frame. 

No. UX. Each, $7.00 
Hodel C 

Spliced cane handle, combed, 

extending through walnut 

throat piece, beveled frame. 

No. 13. Each, $7.50 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francfsco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 



SPALDING'S 

TENNIS 

RACKETS 

Model CC 

Extra large spliced cane handle, 
combed, extending through wal- 
nut throat piece, beveled frame. 

No. I3X. Each, $7.50 



riodel D 



Beveled frame, combed mahog- 
any handle, polished mahogany 
throat piece. 

No. IS. Each, $7.00 



riodel DD 

Extra large combed mahogany 

handle, polished mahogany 

throat piece, beveled frame. 

No. I5X. Each, $7.00 



New York Chicago Philadelphia 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 




A. G. SPALDING & BROS 



M^^^S^^^^ffiSjj^ft ll 


P/^^Si^^^^l 


■i!H^^lH!eieffia 1 


J \ i gj^Bj^jnumfflgiggigm ■ 




^^\>^^aM«^^K^^^;^M 


^H:i^^^^^^^^.^l 




1 



SPALDING'S 

TENNIS 

RACKETS 

The Tournament 

Modeled after design of promi- 
nent player. Finest white ash 
frame with mahogany throat 
piece and taped bow. Best 
white gut stringing, combed 
mahogany handle, leather cap- 
ped. Finished with high polish. 

No. I f. Each, $6.00 
The Varsity 

A well made racket at a popular 
price. New model. Finely fin- 
ished white ash frame and ma- 
hogany throat piece. Strung 
with fine white gut. Combed 
mahogany handle, leather 
capped. 

No. 10. Each, $5.00 
The Varsity— Cork 

Same as No. 10, but equipped 

with cork handle instead of 

combed mahogany handle. 

No. IOC. Each, $5.50 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 



SPALDING'S 

TENNIS 

RACKETS 



The Slocum 

Old model as popular as ever. 
Frame of selected white ash, 
highly polished, fine quality 
main strings and red cross 
strings, mahogany throat piece, 
combed mahogany handle, 
leather capped. 

No. 9. Each, $4.00 



Slocum Junior 

Old model and very popular. 
Frame of highly polished white 
ash with polished walnut throat 
piece combed mahogany handle, 
leather capped. Strung with all 
white fine quality gut. 

No. 8. Each, $3.00 



The Ocomo 

For ladies' use particularly. 
Frame of finest white ash with 
rounded edges. Taped bow and 
mahogany throat piece._ String- 
ing of very best white gut. 
Combed mahogany handle, 
made small for ladies' use, 
leather capped. Fine polish 
finish. 

No. 12. Each, $6.00 




A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago Philadelphia 

Boston Buffalo 

Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




SPALDING'S 

TENNIS 

RACKETS 



The Vantage 

Improved model, frame of highly 
polished white ash, mahogany 
throat piace, fine quality white 
gut stringing, combed mahog- 
any handle, leather capped. 

No. 6. Each, $3.50 



The Favorite 

Approved model, frame of white 
ash, polished walnut throat 
piece, stringing of good quality 
gut, combed cedar handle, 
leather capped 

No. 2. Each, $|.oo 



The Greenwood 

Improved shape, frame of finely 
finishedgood white ash, polished 
mahogany throat piece, string- 
ing of good quality gut, combed 
mahogany handle, leather 
capped. 

No. 4. Each, $2.00 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo ^ Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 



SPALDING'S 

TENNIS 

RACKETS 



The Lakeside 

An excellent racket, frame of 
finely finished white ash, pol- 
ished mahogany throat piece, 
stringing of fine quality white 
gut, combed mahogany handle, 
leather capped. 

No. 5. Each, $2.50 

Same as No. 5, but with larger 
handle. 

No. 5X. Each, $2.50 



The Geneva 

New shape of popular design, 
frame of white ash, finely fin- 
ished, polished walnut throat 
piece, good quality gut, combed 
cedar handle, leather capped. 

No. 3. Each, $r.50 



The Practice 

A good practice racket, frame 
of white ash with walnut throat 
piece and combed cedar handle, 
leather capped ; stringing of 
good quality gut. 

No. I. Each, 75c. 




A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

Chicago Philadelphia 

Boston Buffalo 

Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




Spalding's 

pionsbip 

Cennis 
Ball 



Absolutely perfection ; regulation 

size and weight ; finest quality felt 

cover. 



No. 00 





PER DOZ. 



$4.00 



A. C. SPALDING Sc BROS. 



New York Chicago Philadelphia 

St Louis Boston Huffalo 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



SPALDING'S TOURNAMENT 
TENNIS BALL 




Uniform in quality and carefully constructed 

throughout. Regulation size and 

weight. Fine felt cover. 



N 



Per dozen 



3-50 



We try to make our catalogue impart intelligent, 
reliable, definite and accurate information about 
every article we sell, and we think we have suc- 
ceeded in our 88-page Spring and Summer Sports 
number. Copy for the asking. 



A. G SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 



SPALDING'S 
VANTAGE TENNIS BALL 




A good felt covered ball. 



No 



Per dozen, ^53.00 



No matter where you live, in Maine or Manila, you can 
feel perfect confidence in ordering anything you want 
from our catalogue. Every article is illustrated and 
truthfully described. A postal will bring one to you. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York Chicago Philadelphia 

St Louis Boston Buffalo 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




^^^■^^^^ 



SpaiUm'B JIatent Double Centre lUU 



Pat. Dec. 4, 1888. Pat. April 9, 1889 

Spalding's Patent Double Centre Nets are hand knitted, 
and in the centre, where most of the wear comes, have 
double twine knitted together for 11 to 13 feet, according 
to size of net. Will outlast two or more ordinary nets. 

No. 2C. Length 36 feet; double centre, 11 feet; white, 15 

thread, double court Each, $4.50 

No. 3C. Length 42 feet; double centre, 13 feet; white, 15 

thread, double court Each, $5.00 

No. 2D. Length 36 feet; double centre, 11 feet; white, 21, 

thread, double court Each, $5.00 

No. 3D. Length 42 feet; double centre, 13 feet; white, 21 

thread, double court Each, $5.50 



Spalding's handsomely illustrated catalogue of Spring and Summer Sports will 
be mailed free to any address. Write for one. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 




^palbitt0'0 MitxtolltQiait MtU 



Hand knit of best quality twine. Extra wide canvas strip 

at top. Same style and quality as used at Newport and all 

championship events. Tanned nets if desired. 

No 3E. Double Court, 42 feet, 21 thread; 

handmade Each, $4.25 

No. 2E. Double Court, 36 feet, 21 thread; 

hand made Each, $3.75 



Spalding's complete catalogue of Spring and Summer Sports should be in 

the hands of everyone interested in athletic sports. Contains 96 

pages, profusely illustrated. Sent free to any address in 

the United States or Canada. Write for one. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapolis 



London, 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
Kansas City 
England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




<S|iolb{tt0'0 €mms ^ottttn llets 



No. 2B. Double Court, hand made, 36 feet, 21 thread; 

white Each, $3.00 

No. 3B. Double Court, hand made, 42 feet, 21 thread; 

white Each, $3.50 

No. 2A. Double Court, machine made, 36 feet, 15 

thread; white Each, $2.00 

No. 3A. Double Court, machine made, 42 feet, 15 

thread; white Each, $2.25 



=TARRED NETS= 



No. 2X. Canvas Bound, double court, 36 feet, 21 
thread. ...'.,. Each, $4.00 

No. 3X. Canvas Bound, double court, 42 feet, 21 
thread Each, $4.50 



5end for Spalding^'s handsomely illustrated catalogue of sports 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 
Boston 



Philadelphia 
Bufifalo 

Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




5|ialb{n0^0 Hegulation €tnnw lUU 



No. 3. Double Court, machine made, 42 feet, 15 thread; 

white Each, $1.50 

No. 2. Double Court, machine made, 36 feet, 15 thread; 

white Each, $1.00 

No, 1. Single Court, machine made, 27 feet, 12 thread; 

white Each, 75c. 



Spalding's complete catalogue of Spring and Summer Sports should be in 

the hands of everyone interested in athletic sports. Contains 96 

pages, profusely illustrated. Sent free to any address in 

the United States or Canada. Write for one. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 



Spalding's Championship Tennis Poles 




Without doubt the finest thing in the way of a Tennis Pole that has ever been 
placed on the market. Square, 3^-inch ash poles, finely finished, with heavy 
japanned iron bases, and ratchet crank of special design. We also supply with 
these poles iron clutches to steady the poles when used on soft ground, and 
our special iron corkscrews, which are fixed permanently in the ground, mark- 
ing the place where poles should be set. Handle and wedge spike used to 
insert corkscrew packed with poles. 

No. A. Championship Tennis Poles ' . . . Pair, $20«00 



A. G. SPALDING Sl BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 


Philadelphia 


Boston 


Buffalo 


Minneapolis 


Kansas City 


London 


England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



Spalding's Tennis 
Poles 

Square poles, 2% inch wood, handsomely 
painted in red with black striping ; japanned 
iron bracket bases to steady poles, which are 
inserted 18 inches into the ground. No guy 
ropes necessary with these poles. 

No. D . Per pair, $3.00 

Guy Ropes and Pegs 
for Tennis Nets 



I f 






No. I , Hemp ropes, plain pegs 

No. 2. Cotton ropes, plain pegs . . . . . 

No. 3. Cotton ropes, fancy pegs 

No. 3 will answer for backstop nets. 



Per set, 25C. 

" 50c. 
" 85c. 



Complete Catalogue of Athletic Sports Mailed Free. 



A. G. SPALDING Sc BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Koston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 




Spalding's 

Casino 

Tennis 

Poles 




ro.E 



Round poles of ash, finely polished; japanned iron bases and 
pins for fastening firmly to ground. No guy ropes required 
with these poles. Net is adjusted by ratchet crank. 

No. C. Casino Poles. Per pair, $6.00 

5palding's Tennis Poles 

Finely polished, solid, spiked tennis poles. Packed complete 

with guy ropes and pegs. 

No. E. Per pair, $2.00 

Good quality solid tennis poles. Packed complete with guy ropes 
and pegs. 
No. F. Per pair, $ | .QO 
Complete Catalogue of Athletic Sports Mailed Free. No, 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago Philadelphia 

Boston _ Buffalo 

Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



Spald= 

ing's 

Canvas 

Caddy 

Bags 




No. CXL 




No. CXH 



No. C2. Heavy bound canvas; leather trimmings, wooden bottom; 
ball pocket and sling to match .... Each, $1.00 

No. ex. E.xtra heavy light tan colored canvas bag, leather bottom; 
extra large ball pocket and sling to match. . . Each, $3 00 

No. CXL. Same style as No. CX, excepting that it is made larger 
throughout; studs on bottom Each, $2.50 

No. CXH. Furnished with canvas emergency hood, which can be 
quickly drawn over clubs in case of rain, and is inside of the bag 
and out of the way at other times. Quality and style otherwise 
same No. CX Each, $3.00 

No. A2. Heavy tan canvas bag, leather trimmings; leather rein- 
forced strips running lengthwise; sole leather bottom, ball 
pocket and sling. . . ^ Each, $3.00 



Send for Spalding's handsomely illustrated catalogue of tennis and 
other sports. Mailed free to any address. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapolis 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
Kansas City 
London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




Portable flarking Tapes 

No. 3. For Single Court, complete with 100 staples and 
pins Per set, $3.50 

No. 4. For Double Court, complete with 200 staples 
and 14 pins Per set, $4 00 

No. 6. For Double Court, extra quality canvas, com- 
plete with 200 staples and 14 pins. . Per set, $6.00 

No. 7. Waterproof Tape, for Double Court, complete 
with 200 staples and 14 p^ns- . . Per set, $S.00 



No. S. Extra Staples. 



Per 100, .50 



=Marking Plates= 

For permanently marking angles of court. Made of 

malleable iron and painted white. A set consists of 

eight corner and two T pieces. 




No. 1. Marking Plates, with separate pins. . . Per set, $1.00 
No. 2. Marking Plates, with wedge pins attached. Per set, $1.50 



New York 
Boston 
St. Louis 



A. C. SPALDING Sc BROS. 



Chicago 
)!altimor 
.Minneapoli 



Phihulelph 

Buffalo 

Denver 



London, Engl 



San Francisco 
Kansas City 
Montreal, Can. 



Racket Presses 




!' The new shape in which we are making our presses we believe 
will be found very satisfactory and thoroughly effective. Rackets 
should be kept in one of them when not in use to prevent warping, 
especially when they have been exposed to moisture or used at 
the seashore. 

No. IR. For one tacket. . . Each, $ | .00 

No. 2R. For two rackets. . «' 2.00 

Rubber Handle Covers 

For covering racket handles to secure better grip. Made of 
pure gum rubber. 



No 
No 



No. 1. 

Each, 25c. 
" 35c. 

Complete Catalogue of Athletic Sports IVIailed Free 



f . Circular corrugations. 
2. Pin head corrugations. 



A. G. SPALDING <& BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

l^oiulon, P'ngland 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
IMontreal, Can. 




Columbia 

Tennis 

Marker 

Makes a clean, even 
ribbon line, with 
contact in full view. 

No. I. 
Each, $5.00 



Dry 

Tennis 

Marker 

No mixing of ma- 
terial. Uses marble 
dust and slacked gi 
lime, etc. 

No. 2 




Each, $2.00 



If you have not already received our catalogue, a postal will bring it. The 
handsomest sporting goods catalogue ever issued. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York Chicago Philadelphia 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




S'pnlbing'0 Cachet doux^ 



No. 4. Mackintosh Cover^ thoroughly water- 
proof Each, $1.00 

No. 5. Stiff Leather, for one racket. 5.00 



Send for handsomely illustrated 90-page catalogue of tennis goods and 

athletic wear for all sports. Mailed free on receipt of postal card to 

an^' address iu the United States or Canada. Write for one. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 


Chicago Philadelphia 


St. Louis 


Hoston P.uffalo 


Denver 


Minneapolis Kansas City 




London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




<S;ialbmg'0 Hacket €ouu 



No. I. Soft Felt Cover. . . Each, $ .50 
No. 2. "Waterproof Canvas, leather bound. .75 
No. 7. Stiff leather, for two rackets. 7.50 



Send for handsomely illustrated 96-page catalogue of tennis goods and 
athletic wear for all athletic sports. Mailed free on receipt of postal card 
to any address in the United States or Canada. Vvrite for one. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 


Chicago Philadelphia 


St. Louis 


Boston l^juffaio 


Denver 


Minneapolis Kansas City 




London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




ii£^J:^iMfc:;3Sp^n:;.73i;i^^ 



Spalding's Backstop Nets 

Cut illustrates six sections, measuring 54 feet long by 7 feet high, set up. 
Uprights and top rods are tubular iron, heavily japanned. Netting is of galvan- 
ized iron wire, which is unaffected by the weather and will not rust, and each 

section is hung separately to permit players to pass back and forth. 

Spalding's Backstop Nets, as illustrated above. . . . Complete, $:25.C0 

Additional sections at proportionate price. 

Twine Nets for Backstops— Without Poles ^ 

No. 4. White, 50 ft. long, 7 ft. high, 9 thread. Each, $2.50 
No. 5. White, 50 ft. long, 8 ft. high, 12 thread. " 3.C0 
No. 5X. Tarred, .50 ft. long, 8 ft. high, 12 thread. " 3.^0 
No. BS. Backstop Net Poles only. ..." 1.00 




:fei^ nil II 








1 1 rr 








1 1 1 


' 1 IT 




























" 1 


1 1 


















Z at regulation height, three feet, and is vastly 




■ 






































1 


-L'- 


— 


the net, and cannot possibly cause the ball to il 










1 




















¥ 




1 








-- -¥ 












It 






1 














Sam 
can be 

No. 
Send 


SftfflfjM 

2 as above, 
adjusted to 

N 

1. Regulati 
your namt 


3ii^ ^ ' ■ jL 

Tournament Pattern ff\ 

only fitted with a turn-buckle, with which height of net [1 ll 
a hair. Very desirable for tournament or match games, i ' E 
o. 3-0. Tournament Pattern. Each, $1.50 | 

Iron Centre Forks 

on, patent stirrups, $1.00 | No. 2. Cheap Iron Fork, 60c. ' ' 
: for a copy of Spalding's handsomely illustrated catalogue of 
tennis and all athletic goods. 


A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 
St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 
Denvei Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 
London, England 



Rackets Restrung 





We make a specialty of this branch of our business, and are 
constantly in receipt of rackets to be restrung, of every known 
make, from all parts of the United States and Canada. This 
work is done by our most scientific stringers, and none but first 
quality gut is used. 

No. GA. Good American Gut, White only. Each, $1.25 
No. BA. Best American Gut, White, Red, 

or Red and White '« | .75 

No. BE. Best English Gut, White, Red, or 

Red and White <» 2.75 

The Spalding trade mark is the seal of 
reliability. When stamped on anything 
athletic you may feel sure that it is the best 
that can be obtained anywhere for the 
price. Complete catalogue mailed free. 



A. C. SPALDING &. BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapol 



Loud, 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
Kansas City 
1, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



Tether Tennis Game 



This game was originally introduced for the 
purpose of practising various strokes at Lawn Tennis. 
It has now developed into a game having special 
merits of its own. The implements consist of an 
upright pole standing 9 or 10 feet out of the ground, 
having a line marked round the pole 6 feet from the 
ground. Attached to the top of the pole is a piece 
of cord, at the end of which is fastened a Lawn Ten- 
nis ball. A line is drawn on the ground 3 feet from 
the pole on opposite sides of it. The players stand 
outside this line, usinyj an ordinary Lawn Tennis 
racket. The game is to wind the cord, with the ba 
attached, round the pole and above the line. 

The game is usually started by tossing for service. 
The winner then takes the ball in his hand and with 
the racket drives it round the pole; the opponent 
stops the progress of the ball and endeavors to drive 
it back again and round the pole in the opposite 
direction. The player getting the ball round the pole 
and above the line, wins the ^:^r^rs 

game. A set is usually the 
best of eleven games. The 
service may either be taken 
alternately or continuously 
until the server loses a game. 




Tether Tennis Ball and Pole ready for play 
Cut shows Marking Ropes in Position. 



No. I . Tether Tennis Ball and Cord. . . $ ,75 

No. 2. Tether Pole, 14 feet 1.50 

No. 3. Tether Pole, 12 feet 1 .OO 

No. 5. Marking Ropes for circle and dividing 

line, with staples Per s.et, | .00 

Spalding's Spring and Summer Sports Catalogue contains handsome illustrations 
and descriptions Cwith prices) of everything needed for athletic sport. 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapf'li 



Philadelphi.n 
lUiffalo 
Kansas City 
idon, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can 



Spalding's Squash Tennis 




No. 16. 

Squash Tennis Racket. 

Each, $3.00 

No. 9. 

Squash Tennis Balls, Championship 

quality; felt covered; White, 

Black or Red. 

Ber doz., $4.00 

Spalding's complete catalogue of all athletic 

sports is free to anyone 

who asks for it. 




Send for Spalding's handsomely illustrated catalogue of tennis and 
other sports. Mailed free to any address. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago Philadelphia 

Boston l^uffalo 

Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 




Spalding's 
Squash Racquets 

Squash Racquet Bat. 

Made of finest selected ash ; strunj^ 
with best quality gut ; grip wound with 
white kid ; hand made throughout. 

No. 17 . . . . Each, $5.00 

Squash Racquet Balls. 

Best quality 1 11-16 inch rubber balls ; 
black or red enamelled. 

No. S . . . . Per doz., $2.50 




Spalding's Athletic Goods have been the standard for a quarter of a century, 
and this record is in itself proof of the confidence the public has in the Spalding 
trade mark. Send for free catalogue of 88 pages, with illustrations of every- 
thing we sell. 



A. G. SPALDING <& BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapoli 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
s Kansas City 

London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 





.■m 



\ 



i 




The Spalding Socket Drivers and Brassies 

The Spalding Wood Clubs are manufactured from the finest dogwood and per- 
simmon, and are all guaranteed. The models are duplicates of those used by 
some of the best golfers in the world; the grips are horsehide and the finish is 
the very best; the shafts are all second growth split hickory, and particular 
attention is given to the spring and balance of t!ie club. 

Socket Drivers and Brassies Each, $2.50 

A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. T.ouis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

T.r.nrlr,n V r, o- 1 q r> rl 





The Spalding Scared Drivers and Brassies 

The Spalding Wood Clubs are manufactured from the finest dogwood and per- 
simmon, and are all guaranteed. The models are duplicates of those used by 
some of the best golfers in the world; the grips are horsehide and the finish is 
the very best; the shafts^ are all second growth split hickory, and particular 
attention is given to the spring and balance of the club. 

Scared Drivers and Brassies Each, $2.00 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver ^Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 



1 111- riN'. M\SII1 




The Spalding Hand Forged Irons 

The Spalding Irons are hand hammered from the finest mild steel. We have 
taken the playing clubs of some of the best golfers in the world and duplicated 
them, and they represent our regular stock. If, however, you prefer some other 
model, we will copy it exactly, and the price to you will be the same. Horse- 
hide grips on all of the above. 

The Spalding Hand Forged Irons. . . . Each, $2.00 
A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

Xew York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis P.oston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 




The Spalding Hand Forged Irons 

Tlie Spalding Irons are hand hammered from the finest mild steel. We have 
taken the playing clubs of some of the best golfers in the world and duplicated 
them, and they represent our regular stock. If , however, you prefer some other 
model, we will copy it exactly, and the price to you will be the same. Horse- 
hide grips on all of the above. 

The Spalding Hand Forged Irons. . . . Each, $2.00 



A. G. SPALDING Sl BROS. 



New York 


Chicago 


Philadelphia 


St. Louis 


Boston 


Buffalo 


Denver 


Minneapolis 


Kansas City 




l^ondon 


P'.ngland 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



THE SPALDING ^'H. VARDON'' GOLF CLUB. 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS., EXCLUSIVE MAKERS 



The Vardon Clubs are made in the following styles only: Driver, Brassie, Cleek, Drivi 
Mashie, Mid-Iron No. 1, Light Iron No. 2, Niblic, Mashie Iron, Mashie, Putting Cleek, Putt 




Vardon Drivers 
Each, $2.50 



H Vardon iron Clubs 
Each, $2.G 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco St. Louis 

Buffalo Baltimore Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



Boston 
Montreal, Canl 



'HE SRALUmG "Mm VJiMUun^^ uuLf uuua^ 

A. G. SPALDING & BROS. , EXCLUSIVE MAKERS 




Vardon Brassies 
Each, $2.50 



BRASSIE 

K. Vardon Iron Clubs 
' Each, $2.0 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 

few York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco St. Louis Boston 

Juffalo Baltimore Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can 

London, England 



SPALDING'S 



ALUMINUM GOLF CLUBS 




A. G. SPALDING &. BROS. 

Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

lioston Buffalo Baltimore 

Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Cai 

I.ondon, England 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Giubs Nlustrated on Ogt/tositG Page 



Spald= 

ing's 

Alumi= 

num 

Golf 

Clubs 








We never introduce an arti- 
cle regularly by placing it 
in our catalogue until we 
are certain it possesses qual- 
ities which will assure it of 
permanent favor. We adopt 
no freaks, and desire that 
Spalding clubs shall be 
recognized as standard 
wherever the game is played. 
Aluminum clubs, t o our 
mind, represent no passing 
fad. Their merits and points 
of superiority have been at- 
tested by many of the most 
prominent players i n this 
country, and t h e general 
run of players are gradu- 
ally coming to understand 
the value of a non-rustable 
club, and one which will im- 
prove their general play 
without a doubt. We con- 
tend that every player de- 
sires to make a good show- 
ing at all times, and alumi- 
num clubs will certainly in 
crease his chances in that 
direction 






Each $3.00 




SEND FOR CATALOGUE 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapolis 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
Kansas City 
london, England 



San Francisco 
P>altimore 
IMontreal, Can. 




The 

Spalding 

Hollow 

Steel 

Faced 

Qolf 

Clubs 

Patented June BJcSy?' 



Each, $2.50 



This style club is something that should be in the caddy bag 
every golfer really interested in playing the best game possibl 
In construction it is scientifically correct, and the idea is oi 
that needs only to be explained in order to meet with gener 
approval. We rivet a piece of one-sixteenth inch highh tei 
pered steel on a hollow head, and in that way give you spri 
and resistance combined at the point where they are retiuir' 
Golfers of international reputation have endorsed them liigli 
and they bid fair to revolutionize club making to a great e\tM 
The set consists of cleek, lofting mashie, mid-iron and puttt- 
Each has points of superiority over the ordinary style, and a; 
claim we may make in regard to them we are sure will lie 1 ■ i 
out by your experience after a trial. We know that the i ■ t 
tried fairly, should improve your shots at least fifty yards, an! ■ 
can make this statement safely because the assertion has been 
peated to us so often by those who are using the club n 

Furnished luith Horseliide Gri/>s; finest quality tJirou.::' 



A. C. SPALDING 8l BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francises 

Bo>ton Baltimore Buffalo Kansas City 

St. Louis Minneapolis Denver Montreal, Ca' 

London, England 



The 

Spalding 
Wizard 
Qolf Ball 



Rubber Cored 



It is not an experiment, 

but a pronounced 

success 



REMEMBER 

IT IS 

SPALDING 
QUALITY 

That is, the best it is 
possible to produce 




The covers of the Wizard Ball are 
inamifactured f/Qiii gutta percha 
and other resilient materials from a 
recipe known only to ourselves. 
We guarantee them not to crack, 
oiien or break during eighteen-holes- 
play. If they do, send them back 
and we will replace them. 

THE CORE IS WOUND TO A 
HIGHER TENSION 

than is possible on any machines 

other than the ones we use, and the 

highest tension must produce the 

best ball. 



Doz. '6.00 



A. C. SPALDING Sl BROS. 



New Yurk Chicago Philadelphia 

St. Louis IjQSton Huffaio 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City 

London, England 



San F'rancisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 










Silvertown 0. K. Golf Ball 



The O. K. Silvertown marking is made for 

us exclusively. Golfers recognize in it an 

old friend, improved in appearance, but as 

true as ever. 

Size 27 1-2. Selected quality 
Thoroughly seasoned 

No. O. K. - - - - PER DOZEN, $3.50 



A. G. SPALDING So BROS. 



New York 


Chicago 


Philadelph 


Boston 


Baltimore 


Buffalo 


St. Louis 


Minneapolis 


Denver 



San Francisco 
Kansas City 
Montreal, Can. 



London, England 




The Vardon Flyer 

VARPON'S OWN BALL 

Manufactured in England for him from special gutta and 
Bramble marked. Vardon, during his tour of this country, 
played over seventy-two different golf courses, and either tied 
or broke the record on nearly every one. He claims for this 
marking a longer and truer flight than can be obtained from the 
smooth markings, and as he, on the average, outdrove every 
man he met and made the longest "carries" he ever made in his 
life, you can safely assume that there cannot be anything wrong 
with the balls or the clubs with which he performed this unpar- 
alled feat. The man is a marvel: the ball is second only to the 
man. 

The Vardon Flyer is never sent out until thor= 

oughly seasoned, and for uniformity of weight 

and perfection of flight is not equalled by any 

bail on the market. 



Vardon Flyer 



Per doz., $3.50 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapolis 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
Kansas City 
London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



The 

Spalding 

Bramble 

Golf 

BaU 




Size, 27 1-2 



PER DOZ. 



$3,00 



Send for a copy of our 
handsome catalogue on 
golf and all athletic pas- 
times. Sent free to any 
address in the United 
States or Canada. 



This is an American ball 
in every essential particu- 
lar, although the gutta 
percha used in its construc- 
tion comes from the Malay 
Peninsula. Harry Vardon 
played with Spalding 
Brambles during the first 
three months of his Amer- 
ican tour. The results he 
obtained are the best proofs 
as to whether the ball is all 
right, and, in addition, he 
freely and frequently 
stated that he never played 
with a better ball. 



A. C. SPALDING Sl BROS. 



New York 
Boston 
St. l^ouis 



Chicago 

}>altimore 

Minneapolis 



Philadelphia 

liuffalo 

Denver 



San Francisco 
Kansas City 
Montreal, Can. 



i.ondon, England 




Spalding's Remade 
Golf Balls 

WE REMAKE GOLE BALLS, BOTH RUBBER 
CORE AND SOLID GUTTA 

Price of Rubber Core Remade. '. , Per dozen, $4.:.0 
Price of Solid Gutta Remade. . " ~-50 

Remaking where old balls are furnished, 

rubber core Per dozen, 2.50 

Remaking where o\\ halls are furnished, 

solid gutta. . . . .Per dozen, 1.00 

Send for a copy of Spalding's handsomely illustrated 
catalogue of all sports. Mailed free. 



New York 
St. Louis 
Denver 



A. C. SPALDING & BROS. 



Chicago 

Boston 

Minneapolis 



Philadelphia 
Buffalo 
Kansas City 
London, England 



San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 





Spalding's 
Cran Patent Brassie Cleek 

THE FACE OF THIS CLEEK IS 
HOLLOWED OUT AND FILLED 
WITH WOOD, AND A BALL 
GOES AS SWEET OFF THE 
CLEEK FACE AS IT DOES OFF 
A npi\/FP=^ == 

EACH, $2.00 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 

New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

St. Louis Boston Buffalo Baltimore 

Denver Minneapolis Kansas City Montreal, Can. 

London, England 




No. L6 




No. iJi 




Xo. L5 



No. L3. All leather bag, made in either tan or black; ball pocket 
and sling to match; brass trimmings. A superb looking bag 
and very serviceable. Each, $4.00 

No. L6. Small stiff leather bag of extra fine bridle leather; made in 
either tan or black; snap sling and brass trimmings throughout. 
Long ball pocket opening top and bottom. . . Each, $4.50 

No L.5. Stiff leather bag of extra fine bridle leather; ball pocket 
and sling to match; brass trimmings. . . . Each, $.5.00 

No. LoH. Same style as our No. L5, with the addition of a lock 
and removable hood for covering clubs while traveling. This is 
the only caddy bag that will be accepted by railroads as 
baggage. ......... Each, $7.50 



A. G. SPALDING & BROS. 



New York 
Boston 
St. Louis 



Chicago 

Baltimore 

Minneapoli 



Philadelphia 

Buffalo 

Denver 



London, England 



San Francisco 
Kansas Citv 
Montreal, Can. 




No. W3V2 




Spald= 
ing's 
Caddy 
Bags 



ALL STYLES FOR WOMEN 

No. W".i''2. Heavy tan canvas, leather trimmings; sole leather 
bottom; ball pocket and sling to match. . . Each, $1.50 

No. W3J^. Scotch Plaids, leather trimmings; sole leather bottom; 
ball pocket and sling to match plaids. . . . Each, $3.00 

No. WL3. Fine bridle leather; ball pocket and sling; brass trim- 
mings. An exceedingly fine looking and serviceable bag. $4.00 

FOR CHILDREN 

Nn. 9. Heavy bound canvas, leather trimmings; ball pocket and 
sling; wooden bottom. ...... Each, Trie. 

No. 10. Scotch Clan Plaid, leather trimmings; ball pocket and 
sling to match. ....... I'.ach, $].*-2.") 



A. G. SPALDING 6l BROS. 

San Francisco 
Baltimore 
Montreal, Can. 



New York 


Chicago Philadelphia 


St. Louis 


P>oston Buffalo 


Denver 


Minneapolis Kansas City 




London, England 




* 


1 


m 



npen ninutes' Exercise 

D* Luther Guiick for Busy Hen 

Dr. Gulick says: "The experi- 
ence of years has demonstrated the 
efficiency of the exercises contained 
in ' Ten Minutes* Exercise for Busy 
Men ' in secjiring the ends for w l.ich 
they were devised. Many letters 
have been written by men, testifying 
to the great benefit which they have 
secured from these few minutes of 
simple but vigorous work. 

.. * * * The correspondence 
schools of physical training have 
come into great activity. Their 
general aim is to build up big mus- 
cles. A somewhat careful investi- 
gation of them satisfies me that they 
are inferior to the exercises in this 
drill for purposes of building up 
vigor and manliness. 

" One of the most vigorous claims 
of some of these schools, namely, 
that the heart particularly is bene- 
fited by their work, is false, for I 
have had case after case of men 
whose hearts have been injured by 
taking the correspondence schools' 
work when they were not in condi- 
tion for it. 

" The exercises in ' Ten Minutes' 
Exercise for Busy Men ' are recom- 
mended with the confidence of long, 
successful use. The results secured 
are better than those possible from 
the correspondence school work in 
the specific directions mentioned." 




PRICE BY 

MAIL 
lo CENTS 

American 

Sports 

Publishing 

Co. 

1 6. 1 8 Park 

Place 
New York 







HOW TO BECOME A BOXER 

For many years publications have 
been issued on the art of boxing that 
to a certain extent did not enable the 
novice nor the youth to become pro- 
ticient in the manly art. There is 
probably no man in America better 
qualified to teach boxing than Prof. 
William Elmer, and in his book on 
the subject he goes into it very ex- 
haustively.' The book contains about 
seventy full page illustrations, show- 
ing how each blow is to be made, 
how to attack and how to defend 
yourself. It shows how the hands 
must he held and the positions to 
take, with descriptions that are so 
accurate that any boy can take them, 
open them up and with a young friend 
become proficient. Besides being a 
fully illustrated book on the art of 
self-defence, it contains nearly all 
the photographs of the leading Amer- 
ican boxers and the positions they 
take, which in itself is instructive ; 
the different rules under which all 
contests are held, and articles which 
will interest anyone on the question 
of physical education. In order to 
make this publication the most ac- 
curate one issued. Prof. Elmer had 
his sparring partner posed personally 
for all the illustrations. 

PRICE BY MAIL lo CENTS. 

American Sports Publishing Co. 

16-18 Park Place. New York. 




1 

Spalding's 


Rome CiDrary 


1 


Devoted to Games and 


Amusements for the Home Circle 


1 


J Chess 


16 Piquet 


1 


2 Whist 


J 7 Go-Bang 


g 


3 Dominoes and Dice 18 Games of Patience 


% 


4 Poker 


J 9 Children's Games 


^ 


5 Backgammon 


20 Cribbage 


J 


6 Euchre 


2 J Drawing Room Game s 


^ 


7 Billiards 


22 Group of Card Games 


^ 


8 Ecarte 


23 Children's Games 


1 


9 Checkers 


24 Group of Card Games 


JO Bezique 


25 Drawing Room Games 


g 


n Pool 


26 Group of Card Games 


^ 


J2 Pinochle 


27 Children's Games 


^ 


13 Lotto 


28 Skat 


^ 


H Hearts 


29 Drawing Room Gamzs 


g 


15 Reversi 


30 Baccarat 


1 


PRICE TEN 


CENTS PER COPY 


1 


Published by 


1 


American Spom Publisbing go» 


1 


16=18 PARK PLACE NEW YORK 


1 



%^ww^w^m^mm^mmmmm^^mmmAmmmmmfM 



JUN 9 1903 





^h-^^^m^'"'^ li^^msm^^:= ^^mm^ 



%4 




Spalding's handsomely 
illustrated catalogue of 



The Above Catalogue Free 

Spring and Summer Sports, containing 96 pages of everything pertain- 
ing to athletics, will be sent free anywhere by writing to A. G. Spalding 
& Bros., in any of the following cities. Write to the town nearest you. 
New York Chicago Philadelphia San Francisco 

Boston Baltimore Buffalo Kansas City 

St. Louis Minneapolis Denver Montreal, Can. London, Eng 






ATHLETIC LIBRARY 



PRICE 
TEN CENT 



< 



Tal'li fennis. How to \. 
strokes illustrated by ai 
Virid' Hocki-y. To those in nejti of 
d healthful out-of-doors exercise, 
reconiniended highly. 
Hinv to Play Golf. Photographic 
th Jas. Braid, champion of England. 
tells how to play the game, with 
; rules, pictures. 

Athletes'' Guide. One of the most 
the subject that has ever appeared, 
vice, important A. A. U. rules and 
atioiis, how to train, etc. The il- 
comprise many photos showing 
1 action. 

y 01V to Play Lawn Tennis. By. J. 
it. A complete description of lawn 
iren ; lessons for beginners and in- 
r making every stroke. 
■ Indoor and Oittdoof Gymnastic 
mpiied by Prof. A. M. Chesley, the 
y.M.C.A. physical director. Valu- 
r and outdoor gymnasiums, schools, 
gatherings where there are a num- 
used. Rules for over 100 games. 
Official Basket Ball Gitidt'. By G. T. 
lotos of the leading amateur teams, 
n the East and West, official rules. 
Te)i Miniiti-.'i^ Exercise for Busy 
. Luther (nilick, one of the foremost 
physical culture. A concise course 
:ducation for home use which ren- 
)le for every one to keep healthy. 
{01(1 to Become a Boxer. A book 

fulfil all demands. Contains over 
illustrations showing all the latest 
photographs posed by Prof. \Vm. 
artner. They are so arranged that 
s can become proficient boxers by 
em closely. Pictures of leading 
oxers are included. Every boy 
this book. 

How to BecotJie a Bowler. By S. 
tary of the American Bowling Con- 
il rules and articles of interest. 
fencing. Any boy, by following the 

1 become an expert with the foils. 
Hoii' to Siving Indian Clnbs. By 
Varman, the well known exponent 
lulture. The most complete work 
ial subject ever issued. By follow- 
rams carefully anyone can become 
lb swinger in a short time. 

luoits. By M. W. Deshong. The 
te book on the game published ; il- 
\i difficult plays and portraits of 

Official Athletic Almanac. Com- 
E. Sullivan. It is the only annual 
low issued that contains a complete 
ir best-on-records. Illustrated 







No. 169 — Indoor Base Ball. This book con- 
tains the playing rules, pictures of leadiiuLi^ 
teams, and interesting articles on the game. 

No. 170— Push Ball. Played with an air- 
inflated ball 6 feet in diameter, and weighing 
about 50 lbs. A .side consists of 11 men. It 
has met with instant favor, and now no school 
or athletic club is complete without one. 

No. \1\— Basket Ball for Women. Edited by 
Miss Senda Berenson of Smith College Con- 
tains valuable information, special articles, ofli- 
cial rules, and photos of teams of leading wo- 
men's colleges and high schools. 

No. Yi^—Spaldi)ig's Official Base Ball Guide. 
Edited by Henry Chadwick, the " Father of 
Base Ball," is the official publication of base 
ball. Complete records, pictures of chamjjion 
teams, official rules and special articles. 

No. 173— //(w to Play Base Ball. Edited by 
T. H. IMurnane. The editor has obtained from . 
such well known players as Lajoie, Kittridge, ^ 
Clarke, Cy Young, Willis, Callahan, Doyle and 
other equally prominent players special articles 
telling just how they play their respective posi- 
tions. Over 50 full page pictures of prominent 
players in action are shown, and accurate pho- 
tographs showing how to hold the fingers for 
the various carves and drops. This is the best 
book of its kind ever published. 

No. 174— Distance and Cross Country Run- 
ning. By Geo. Orton, the famous U. of Penn. 
runner. Tells how to become proficient in these 
specialties, gives instructions for training and 
is illustrated with manj- full page pictures of the 
best men in action. 

No. 175 — Spalding's Laivn Tennis An?iual. 
Compiled by J. Parmly Paret. Contains the 
official statistics, photographs of leading players, 
special articles on how to play the game, re- 
view of important tournaments, official rules, 
and other valuable information. 

No. 17&— Official Intercollegiate A .A .A. Hand- 
book. Contains official rules that govern inter- 
collegiate events and all intercollegiate records. 

No. ViS—How to Train /or Bicycling. Gives 
methods of the best riders when training for 
long or short distance races. 

No. 19,1— Official Foot Ball Guide. Edited 
by Walter Camp. The only publication con- 
taining the official rules under which every game 
is played. Illustrations of over 2,500 players, 
articles of interest and records. 

No. V^—How to Play Foot Ball. By Walter 
Camp. Revised for 1903. How the game should 
be played, how signals are given, training, etc. 
Special articles by De Snulles of Yale and 
Lewis of Harvard. Illustrated with many full 
page snap shots of actual plnys. 







Numbers omitted on above list have been renumbered and brought up to date 



ICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING CO. 



16 and 18 PARK PLA< 
NEW YORK 




This is a fac-simile of the grand prize awarded to A. G. Spalding & Bros, foi 
finest and most complete line of athletic goods exhibited at the Universal II 
sition, Paris, 1900. We have brought this medal to America in competition 
the leading makers of the world. It is the highest award given for any ex 
and is exclusively granted for the best goods in that particular class. 




Spalding's Athletic Goods were used exclusively in all the athletic events in 
Stadium of the Pan-American Exposition in I901, Spalding's athletic goocii 
standard of quality and officially recognized as such by the leading gover 

bodies. 

The Spalding Official League Base Ball, Intercollegiate Foot Ball, 

Gaelic Foot Ball, Association Foot Ball, Basket Ball, Indoor Base 

Ball, Polo Ball, Boxing Gloves, Athletic Implements. 



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